Not only maternal education level and age, but also parity and region are important contributors to the variability in patterns. Further studies are needed to describe associations between these patterns and infant growth and later food preferences.

Our study brings new insights in the understanding of the main maternal factors involved in PUFA levels variability in early milk. These data are important to consider for dietary counseling for women prior to and during pregnancy.

We identified distinct NSD trajectories among preschoolers and associated early life factors. Some of them may reflect less healthy lifestyles, providing cues for early multi-behavioral prevention interventions.