If you want to be a successful breastfeeder, it's really important NOT to give your baby formula in the early days.
If your baby has to be apart from you for some reason, make sure the staff know you want him brought to you as soon as he needs a feed, and you don’t want him given anything to drink, even water - except in the unlikely event that it’s medically essential (for example, if your baby has low blood sugar which doesn’t respond to frequent breastfeeding).
Giving breastfed babies anything other than breast milk is unnecessary for the vast majority. It’s also unacceptable as it can interfere with the establishment of successful breastfeeding. Don't be fobbed off with excuses. He's your baby and feeding frequently and on an unrestricted basis is the best way to establish successful breastfeeding. If he has anything else to drink he won’t want to breastfeed as often as he otherwise would, and unless you express your milk frequently to make up for him wanting relatively few feeds, your milk supply will diminish.
Unfortunately, some hospital maternity units are so out of date that breastfeeding mothers are routinely given bottles of formula to ‘top up’ their babies after a feed. The stark fact is that mothers who give their breastfed babies bottles of formula are much more likely to give up breastfeeding before they are ready.
If someone asks why your baby is not allowed to drink formula, sugar water or boiled water at night, when other babies have it and seem all right, reply that there are many reasons why breast milk alone is best for almost every baby.Why breast milk alone is nearly always best1. The more your baby feeds, the sooner mature milk comes in.
2. Frequent breastfeeds help you make plenty of milk.
3. Colostrum gives your baby the correct proportions of nutrients, supplies protective antibodies and other substances not present in formula, and encourages his bowel to expel the sticky early motions (meconium).
4. Formula satiates a baby’s appetite for several hours, making him less likely to want to breastfeed. This, in turn, reduces breast stimulation, which may decrease the milk supply. Bottle-fed babies go longer between feeds than breastfeds because it takes longer to digest formula.
5. Formula contains foreign proteins which (especially if your baby has an allergic family history) might increase his risk of allergic and auto-immune diseases in later life.
6. Sugar water is nearly always unnecessary for full-term, healthy babies, because breast milk provides all the sugar and water they need. A high-calorie drink satiates his appetite and makes him less likely to want to breastfeed. A sudden slug of sugar is unnatural and best reserved for only when medically essential.
7. Properly and exclusively breastfed babies don't need extra water. Breast milk provides enough even in the early days and in hot countries. Research at the University of Rochester in New York showed that breastfed babies given water or cows' milk formula complements lost more weight in the first few days and were less likely to start gaining before they left hospital than were exclusively breastfed babies.
8. It’s better for a young baby not to feed from a bottle. A bottle teat is too easy to drink from and a baby used to bottles has to work harder to get milk from the breast, which may put him off. If your baby can’t breastfeed, or in the unlikely situation that he really needs something extra (for example, if he has a low blood sugar level, or excessive weight loss that doesn’t respond to frequent breastfeeds), it’s better for him to have whatever’s necessary from a cup or spoon (or, if very premature, a tube). Some women want a babysitter to give bottles of expressed breast milk (or formula), so are keen for their babies to get used to the bottle. But giving occasional bottles (especially to young babies) can interfere with successful breastfeeding, so it’s better to wait a few months. Most older babies readily get used to feeding from a cup.Is it okay to give bottle-feeds of formula at home?The subject of giving your breastfed baby bottles of formula may come up again when you get home - either because you think it’s a good idea or because someone else suggests it. However, giving bottle-feeds of formula is nearly always bad news for a breastfeeding woman and her baby. They reduce the supply of breast milk because a baby full of formula doesn’t want frequent breastfeeds, yet breast stimulation is essential for milk production.
Women who want to breastfeed successfully should not allow their babies to have formula. As one mother said, 'How can demand and supply work if you suppress half the demand?'
If bottles of formula are recommended because your baby doesn’t seem to be thriving, you can almost certainly avoid them simply by increasing your milk supply - for example, by feeding your baby more often.
Experts advise that exclusive breastfeeding for six months is better both for babies and for their mothers.
Dr. Penny Stanway
June 2009
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What Is Colostrum?
