A new study found that introducing formula into an infant's diet during early stages may actually be beneficial for some newborns. This may be particularly helpful for newborns who are experiencing weight loss. Researchers from UC San Francisco discovered that adding formula to a newborn's diet may also help with long-term breastfeeding.
Breastfeeding provides newborns with nutrients that are beneficial to health, including those that are good for the baby's body. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, breastfeeding can provide the maximum benefits possible for newborns.
The current recommendation for a healthy diet for newborns is that mothers should breastfeed for the first six months. Some mothers tend to stop breastfeeding prior the six month period.
"Many mothers develop concerns about their milk supply, which is the most common reason they stop breastfeeding in the first three months," Dr. Valerie Flaherman said. Flaherman is an assistant professor of pediatrics and epidemiology and biostatistics at UCSF and a pediatrician at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital.
"Rather than giving full bottles of formula that make it hard for the baby to return to the breast, ELF [early limited formula] is a small amount of supplementation with a clear end point that alleviates some of the stress new mothers feel about producing enough milk," Flaherman said.
Researchers studied 40 full-term newborns that lost more than 5 percent of their birth weight and were just 1 or 2 days old. The babies were randomly selected to either get early limited formula, following each breastfeeding or to exclusively be breastfed. The babies that were in the ELF group were taken off the formula once they were about 2 to 5 days old when their mothers started producing mature milk.
All of the babies in the study were still breastfeeding after one week. Results showed that after three months, 79 percent of the babies that received ELF were still breastfeeding. From the group of babies that did not receive ELF, 42 percent were still breastfeeding.
"Until now, we haven't explored if it is possible to identify babies who might benefit from early formula use. This study provides the first evidence that early limited formula can provide important benefits to some newborns. Based on our findings, clinicians may wish to consider recommending the temporary use of small amounts of formula to new moms whose babies are experiencing significant early weight loss," Flaherman said.
