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Infant feeding

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Original poster

Anyone else had problems with Cow & Gate Premium extra prebiotics?

14 replies

peaches27 · 09/08/2006 18:37

About 3 weeks ago I bought some Cow and Gate Premium (our usual) and it had a little leaflet inside the lid saying they had added extra prebiotics .... and it would result in a softer stool amongst other things. Thought nothing more about it as I knew it had prebiotics in already.

The day after starting this new batch Freya developed diarrhoea. Not just loose bowels but diarrhoea, some watery, most quite runny. I thought it was a bug, it went on for a week, went to doc, she thought it was a bug too and advised me to carry on and gave us some diaoralyte. After nearly two weeks I became convinced it was the extra prebiotics in the milk. So I stopped the Cow and Gate, started another brand without prebiotics, and the motions firmed up. Now our little one has been fine for a over week on this new brand so I will be continuing it.

BTW I phoned C & G advice line up and they confirmed that this could happen with the added prebiotics but advised me to persevere for another week and our little one would get used to it. I wasnt prepared to though.

Has anyone else had problems with added prebiotics?

OP posts:
tiktok · 09/08/2006 18:41

It's an increasingly well-known, though little publicised, effect of these additional substances, peaches. I think there have been a few threads on MN about it.

I think it's extraordinary that manufacturers think it's ok for a baby (and a mother) to suffer the effects of diarrhoea for four weeks.

QueenPeaHead · 09/08/2006 18:45

yup, I've had problems with aptamil since they upped the prebiotics - runny stools vomiting and seemingly sore tummy. took me a week or so to work it out. put her on cow and gate organic (without prebiotics as they can't be made organically) and she has been right as rain ever since.

annoying isn't it - I used to like aptamil (used it for previous 2 babies)

QueenPeaHead · 09/08/2006 18:45

ps what brand did you go for peaches as a matter of interest?

Original poster
peaches27 · 09/08/2006 20:06

SMA gold. Only because as far as I knew it didnt have prebiotics. It was difficult to decide actually, in the absence of any professional advice. I just bought two days worth of ready made up stuff to see if it made a difference, and it did.

Its so annoying that they think its OK to tinker with what must be a very finely balanced formula, I presume, just as a marketing exercise. Grrr!

OP posts:
QueenPeaHead · 09/08/2006 23:07

hmmm. my 1st was fine on sma but I've tried to swap this one onto it (because she doesn't seem to sleep v well on cow & gate organic - long story), but sma gave her tummyache.

might try farleys next!

typical that the one formula that she is really settled on is sold all over europe but not in the UK. bah

VladimirllichLeninQV · 09/08/2006 23:22

I read a report the other day that said recent research has found that added pre-biotics have been found to either not work, or, the balance of pre-biotics added has been wrong adn therefore has caused more harm than good. Baby milks were not mentioned at all in this report, but I would imagine the same applies.

VladimirllichLeninQV · 09/08/2006 23:24

No, thats wrong, I dont imagine the same applies at all. Apologies for sweeping generalisation.

However, I do wonder about the effectiveness of adding them to baby milk.

Original poster
peaches27 · 10/08/2006 14:14

I would have given her Cow and Gate Organic if I'd known it didnt have prebiotics in. I actually asked the stupid helpline woman and she said they all had it in!

OP posts:
Original poster
peaches27 · 11/08/2006 22:04

I know that prebiotics are substances that allow natural bacteria to grow in the intestine, but what ARE they? What are they made of? If they cant be made organically, why?

OP posts:
tiktok · 12/08/2006 11:13

prebiotics are harvested from marine algae, peaches. I think if you do a search on Martek, which is a company that makes them, you will find out more. They are not/cannot be exactly the same as the prebiotics in human milk. There are other companies which make them from fish oils, IIRC.

Original poster
peaches27 · 13/08/2006 17:46

Not quite what I thought. Why am I thinking Jerusalem Artichoke? I was convinced that was something to do with them.

OP posts:
sui · 13/08/2008 16:37

THis is really interesting- I have just logged on to see of anyone else had been having problems with cow and gate, I had been mixed feeding for four weeks with cow and gate premium - then it seemed the supermarket seemed only to stock the one in a different box, so I bought that one. Since then DS3 has had very loose poos and seems to have more wind and be more uncomfortable straight after a feed. I was thinking of trying aptimil but if that has prebiotics as well I won't bother....I had DS2 on SMA but I was convinced that was the cause of him being a very sicky baby, so I'm reluctant to try that one as well. I suppose I should have decided to breast feed exclusively...yet more reason to feel guilty!

sui · 13/08/2008 16:48

Just realised these messages were posted 2 years ago! I wonder if they have changed the formula again, it is in a different box to the one I used to buy!

wasabipeanut · 13/08/2008 16:54

I've never knowingly used a pre biotic milk but noticed that when I gave my ds a probiotic yoghurt without really thinking,he got the runs quite badly and really nasty nappy rash.

I only twigged because it was the only thing different in his diet. It stopped within a day or two after I realise and stopped giving him the yoghurts.

Wierd.

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