Seeking advice before using aptamil?

[Kate3150]

I am EBF but have bought some aptamil purely as a back up if needed any time.
Just reading the bottle it says speak to doctor, midwife or health visitor before using!!? Have others done this? X

[LoisLittsLover]

No, but it has got fish oil in it so be careful if you have a family history of allergies. Dh is allergic to all seafood and aptamil really upset dd1. Cow and gate wàs much better for her

[Mandarinfish]

It's probably a precaution in case your DC has a dairy intolerance. I don't think anyone bothers asking the doctor, but to be in the safe side you could try DC with a small amount first (rather than a whole bottle) to make sure all is ok.

[BertieBotts]

I think it is just because any formula you give has the potential to interrupt breastfeeding. In an ideal world if you're considering topping up or starting to give formula because of something you're worried about with breastfeeding, you'd be able to speak to a HCP and find out if it's the right way to go or not - for example, if you were worried your breasts might be empty as the baby wants to feed often, it would be useful to receive advice that an empty breast = more milk made and that you can always produce milk even if you "feel" empty, that giving formula to allow breasts time to "fill" is actually counterproductive and will reduce supply over time.

In reality most doctors, midwives and health visitors have very little breastfeeding training so I'm not sure advice would be that helpful. In any case an occasional bottle feed is unlikely to cause any harm. If you have a concern about your breastmilk though it would be better to seek advice (possibly from someone with more training in BF) than to just go straight to formula as a first resort.

[sickandtiredofsick]

Didn’t cow and hate have Fish oil in too I thought all formulas do now ?

[sickandtiredofsick]

*gate