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Ency. home > Nutrition > I > Infant formulas

Infant formulas   

Overview | Recommendations | Side Effects | Food Sources

Alternative names:

Formula feeding; Bottle feeding

Recommendations

Ideally, infants should be fed formulas for a minimum of 6 months. Cow's milk alone is not an appropriate diet for infants because the baby's kidneys may not work as efficiently as an adult's.

Cow's milk also has too much protein (and in particular, too much casein -- a special type of protein). The minerals are not easily absorbed, and there is an increased risk for sensitization to milk proteins. Low fat and skim milk are also inappropriate for use in the first year of life. They do not provide enough calories for growth nor enough of some nutrients needed for normal development.

Advantages of bottle feeding:

  • Others can help Mom with feedings.
  • Mom can occasionally sleep through the night.
  • Mom may feel less restricted and isolated from other relationships and activities.
Milk-based formula is appropriate for full-term and pre-term infants having no special nutritional requirements. The most commonly used milk-based infant formulas are:
  • Enfamil (Mead Johnson)
  • Similac (Ross)
  • SMA (Wyeth)
  • Goodstart (Carnation)
Infants with lactose intolerance or a milk-protein allergy cannot drink standard cow's milk-based formula. Soy-based formulas do not contain milk protein, they use soy protein instead. Soy formulas include:
  • Prosobee (Mead Johnson)
  • Nursoy (Wyeth)
  • Isomil (Ross)
Formulas for premature infants are designed to encourage rapid growth for low birth weight infants. These formulas should be used under a doctor's supervision:
  • Enfamil premature formula (Mead Johnson)
  • Similac special care (Ross)
  • Preemie SMA (Wyeth)
Specialized formulas:
All specialized formulas should be used under a physician's supervision.
  • Similac PM 60/40 is for infants that are predisposed to hypocalcemia and newborns with kidney or heart disease.
  • Nutramigen (Mead Johnson) is for infants and children intolerant of food proteins or for infants with galactosemia.
  • Pregestimil (Mead Johnson) and Alimentum (Ross) are for infants having malabsorption syndromes. They contain added vitamins and iron.
  • Portagen (Mead Johnson) is for infants with an inability to digest and/or absorb certain types of fat.
  • Lofenalac (Mead Johnson) is a specially designed formula for infants with phenylketonuria.

Mixing Formula:
Improper mixing of formula is common and may harm the infant. Follow the instructions on the formula container carefully. To mix a single 4 ounce bottle, use two level scoops of formula powder and add water to the four ounce line, mix well.

Be sure to add the formula first, it mixes better and is more accurate.

Ency. home > Nutrition > I > Infant formulas

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