Just wondering why babies after 6 months cannot have cow milk?

[trinity2]

If a 8 month old is eating a well balanced diet and they can cow milk in breakfast cereal and cooking, why can't they have cow milks to drink? It is just a wondering as I was talking to my mother and she was staying that when I was young babies only had formula until they were 6 months old and she asked me why it had changed as we all grow up OK! and I didn't really know. DO people reckon it is mainly due to the formula mancfactueres puttng pressure on or what? What damage could cows milk do?

Thank you

[Medulla]

It's because milk is the main part of their diet as between 6-12 months you slowly increase their food intake. Formula has added vitamins and minerals and in particular iron. By the time your baby reaches 12 months he/she will be getting all the essential vitamins and minerals from his/her food.

[hana]

thougth it had something to do with not being able to digest it? ( when not cooked)

[moondog]

Trinity,largely to do with marketing dream that is 'follow on' milk.
Tiktok (b/feeding guru) reckons milk is fine.
My kids never drank cow or formula milk but had lots of cow's milk form this age in yoghurt and porridge/cereal.

[anniediv]

But they have it on cereal presumably not cooked

[trinity2]

But what happens if they are eating 3 meals a day, have plenty of veg, fruit, meat, fish,pulses and cereal. Would it then be OK for them to have cows milk?

[FillyjonktheBananaEater]

cos the formula maurfacturers have very, very large advertising budgets?

and can advertise/promote follow milk pretty freely but not under 6 mo formula?

Dunno. Have always been skeptical here, though, tbh. Formula milk is still cows milk, they don't take the inappropriate hormones and stuff out.

[moondog]

Yes Trin,it would be fine
'follow on' is short hand for 'follow on allowing us to part you from yuor money and sell you something you don't need'

[Medulla]

I agree with your point too Hana I think that lots of cows milk would be difficult to digest for a young baby.

[trinity2]

Why would cows milk be harder to digest than chemical enchanced powdered milk?

[Medulla]

DD never had follow on, kept her on the same formula that she went on at 5 months, put her on cows milk at 12 months. As with others on this thread I don't agree with follow on. But first stage formula also have added vitamins and minerals, in fact when I compared the tins (when I briefly contemplated FO) I was surprised at how little difference there was.

[hana]

the whole follow on milk and growing up milk ( aimed at children 12 months +) is a nonsense really. if they have a reasonable diet plus recommended amounts of milk ( whether it be in yogurt, cheese cows milk etc) they don't need the extra vitamins and enhanced stuff that all these coompanies push down parents throats!!!

[Piffle]

so much easier to breastfeed avoid all these hideous questions
My brother is the one out of 3 siblings who got weaned from mums boobs early due to illness and he was on cows milk as mum refused to pay for formula on principle
He is the tallest fittest and healthiest of all of us

[Medulla]

The current reasoning though (after having a quick look on the internet) is that reliance on cows milk would not provide enough iron.

[Spidermama]

To my sensibilities it has more to do with the pus and mucous in cow milk. But I think mine is deemed to be somewhat of a fringe 'loony' view so you can feel free to ignore.

Or you can google pus and cow milk.

[Medulla]

puts another slant on the discussion spidermama

[AardvarkTwo]

My HV told me when DD was born (2 years ago) that it was because cow's milk was too salty. She also said that was why lots of people these days had high blood pressure, because previously they would have been given cow's milk when younger.

I am thinking now that maybe she was talking rubbish?

[FillyjonktheBananaEater]

i agree that cows milk is not hugely palatable.
However, follow on milk is made from cows milk also.

So how does this get around the problem?

[trinity2]

So really, if you gave babies over 6 months cows milk and extra iron it would really be the same as giving them follow on milk?

[hunkermunker]

More here, from kellymom. I wouldn't do it, personally...

[dreamteamgirl]

WHO say unmodified cows milk can be given as a drink from 9-12 months

This is a quote
Other factors
Iron stores are primarily regulated through changes in iron absorption.
Injury to the intestinal mucosa due to the too-early introduction of unmodified cow?s milk and dairy products can result in malabsorption, including decreased absorption of iron (see page 109) (16). This can be pronounced in coeliac disease, which if untreated is often accompanied by iron deficiency anaemia. Chronic diarrhoeal disease is also a common cause of iron deficiency due to malabsorption. During systemic infections there is an acute decrease in iron absorption, paralleling a shift in iron from the
circulation to the liver. This is a natural protective mechanism of the body during periods of infection, aimed at reducing the growth of harmful bacteria that require iron to proliferate.
From WHO page 122

[FillyjonktheBananaEater]

well i think so, really, trinity.

but it must be said i know bllx all about it, really.

[TooTicky]

I'm with Spidermama

[Spidermama]

God love you TT.

[honneybunny]

there is some evidence that drinking cow's milk at very yound age is linked to insulin-dep. diabetes. i think the scientist are not quite sure yet why, but imagine it has something to do with (bovine) albumin (and insulin?) in cow's milk. formula milk would contain these as well, but has been acid treated to break them down.
aardvarktoo, the salt thing your hv was talking about is not complete rubbish: human milk compared to cow's milk has different content (and ratio) of certain salts, which makes it easier to absorb calcium from it.

[Spidermama]

honey I've read about this too and it's interesting you mention it as my ds was diagnosed as type one diabetic last december. He was exclusively breastfed up to 11 months, but had yogurt and other dairy stuff soon after. I now know he's dairy intolerant and will always wonder whether the two are linked.