Milk from women who deliver prematurely differs from that of women who deliver at term.
Preterm milk is initially higher in protein, fat, free amino acids, and sodium, but over the
first few weeks following delivery these levels decrease (Figure 1A). The mineral content
(including trace minerals) of preterm milk is similar to that of term milk, with the following
exceptions: calcium is significantly lower in preterm milk than term milk and does not
appear to increase over time while copper and zinc content are both higher in preterm milk
than term milk and decrease over the time of lactation.