“Immunisation feed” - not breastfeeding but still confused!!

[Rach2479]

Hiya :) - new here!
I’m 35 weeks pregnant and due my first baby and I’ve known from the start that I wouldn’t breastfeed and I still strongly considered it, but my decision is set and I will be bottle/formula feeding my baby.

My health visitor happened to mention that a lot of mums were just doing the “immunisation feed” so just letting the baby feed off the breast straight from birth to get some anti bodies etc then straight to formula.. but I can’t find anything like this option online or any stories of another lady doing this?

My questions are -
Is there much point to this? Do babies need a few days of colostrum to be effective? Will that first feed of such a small amount make a difference?

Will it make letting my milk dry up after birth harder?

Did anyone else go for an option like this? Normally I would just think I know so many kids that were bottle fed since birth and are perfectly fine HOWEVER.. we live in COVID times and the mum guilt creeps in and I think if I can bring myself to breastfeed one time and never have to worry about it again.. is it really worth it enough to make a difference.

When I mentioned to my partner I may just do one feed and then go to formula he made comments like “yes at least then he’s going to get all the good stuff he needs” so now I feel like if I decide against it I’m going to feel guilty when really this isn’t really something a lot of women decide to do anyway. Agh so confusing lol.

I really hope this makes sense. I don’t claim to be educated or too knowledgeable about this stuff.. I’m so new to it so take it easy on me please haha

Thanks in advance!!!

The first milk is colostrum which is super rich in loads of good stuff. It's this we produce until the milk comes in around day 3.

Whether you breastfeed or not you'll produce colostrum (likely already are) and your milk will come in.

If you want to, give it a shot for the first feed or so and see how you do.

You've already decided to formula feed so if it's hard, or you don't like it, no biggie. If it works then brill, baby has had a nice bit of immunity boost.

I’ve never heard it called an immunisation feed but I have had a friend who just fed for the first few days for the colostrum and then stopped. It didn’t seem to be very difficult for her to stop a few days of swollen uncomfortable boobs but you won’t stop your milk coming in anyway! If you’re open to it colostrum is great for newborns so I’d give it a go and see how it goes. You may love it or take to it easily and decide to try BF or you may do a day or two and happily swap to formula- either way you’ll know they’ve had a great start. Good luck with the baby!!

Any breast milk you give your baby will be beneficial. The more the better, and yes, I believe even a small feed of colostrum will aid their immunity.

Yes, if you feed only for a short while your baby receives lots of antibodies which builds up immunity.

You’ll have colostrum whether or not you bf, so possibly no skin off your nose to give it a go? You could express it and feed in a teeny syringe if you prefer not to have baby at the breast. I expressed a bit of colostrum before DS was born and stuck it in the freezer at home in syringes.

It is v full of antibodies. I donated some spare syringes to a science experiment and the bf research scientist who took them said I shouldn’t bin the others I should give them to DS if he was getting a cold, even though he was months old then!

Why have you outright decided you won't BF before even trying?

Thanks so much for your replies already that’s super helpful and encouraging so thank you!
I will definitely mention it to my midwife again and just say I don’t want to breastfeed properly but I’m open to some colostrum feeds and I’m sure they’ll understand and help me when he arrives.
I couldn’t find anything under immunisation feed online so maybe it’s a term she made up lol!
Thanks again :)

Try it for a couple of weeks, it is said babies get most benefit and immunity from the first fortnight of feeding. The colostrum which you produce at first is full of antibodies. However I don't think 'just one feed' would do much, frankly.

It is the baby on the breast that I dislike the most (I won’t go into my reasoning but I have a pretty unhealthy relationship with my boobs, I know it’s strange lol)
But I did consider colostrum harvesting before birth so he gets the good stuff without me having to feel uncomfortable - maybe this will be the middle ground I need!

Yes your baby will get lots of benefit even just from one feed :) As many as you can do is great but it is definitely worth it even if it's only once.

You could also harvest/express - though I think exclusive expressing is a huge ask and I wouldn't personally plan to do it.

I did it. I expressed colostrum from 38 weeks and collect in syringes. I had 20 1 mil syringes by the time I went in for induction at 40+2. I breast fed in hospital for the day he was born and the day after and my husband gave the colostrum in the syringes whilst I was in surgery and recovery for nasty third degree tear. Switched to bottles on the 3rd last day in hospital. The midwives were extremely supportive of both. They held me position baby and get him latched when I breast fed. They provided formula (even though I took my own) when I went to bottle and helped me then too. For me the ability for my husband to take over was huge as I had a really rough recovery. 2hours in surgery post delivery. Tore front to back as well as in to uterus. Mass blood loss. Blood transfusion as well as bad reaction to spinal I had for surgery where my heart rate plummeted and breathing wasn’t good. So the fact that DH could help in every way whilst I tried to recover was massive for me.

As others have said I've never heard of it called that but it's really common, either for mums who try to BF and just don't get on with it for whatever reason or because they want the colostrum benefits.

Babies stomachs are absolutely tiny when they are newborn so a teaspoon full of milk makes all the difference in the first few days.

Have you thought about combination feeding? When I was pregnant all the info I found was black or white, EBF or bottle fed. I had no idea combination feeding was an option nevermind it being so so common in the real world. I liked the idea of breastfeeding for the benefits of my LO but didn't enjoy the process or feel the bonding benefits etc. Combi feeding meant I continued with 75% BF (some boob, some expressed) and 25% formula until 6 months and now DD is 15m and in nursery, I do think i can see the benefits of her immune system vs other babies of the same age.

You wont avoid your milk coming in naturally so why not give it a shot but no pressure if you don't like it/want to continue? It won't make it worse.

You don't need to defend your reasons for not wanting to breastfeed (and I say this as a passionate supporter of breastfeeding!) You've obviously given it thought and that's really commendable. There are certain ways you can get "the good stuff"'into your baby without having to have them feed directly from your breast, which it sounds would be distressing for you. I pumped and syringe fed my first (the baby was in NICU so tube fed) so I got into quite a fab little routine with that and wasn't wild about switching from pump to hungry mouth! Your midwife should be able to help advise on harvesting/ hand expression/ pumping and they may even put you in touch with the infant feeding support person at the hospital who can help advise. Every little bit of that liquid gold really does help but you don't need to be preached at- you need some love and support.

Wow Whatelsecouldibecalled! Bless you that sounds like such a difficult time for you!
Thank you I had thought about colostrum harvesting just to put my mind at ease that I could give my baby the good stuff initially without going through the breastfeeding process and harvesting it in private pre-birth.
I see my midwife in 2 weeks so I’ll have a chat with her about it and hopefully that would be an ideal time to start :)
Thanks again I really do appreciate all your advice!

I was glad I harvested colostrum because it meant DH could give a few syringes too and I could sleep off the birth! After that I mostly stopped expressing (I mix fed) but there are some people who pump for months which is amazing.

Thank you for your lovely supportive reply! So kind. Being a new mum it’s so confusing so really appreciate that :)

I mixed fed my younger one and really wish people had suggested it with my first too.

We muddled along with a mix for about 3/4 months and it never felt as stressful as with eldest.

Whatever you decided, don't get pushed about. I did with my first and tried EBF and it was awful. Wish I'd had the courage of my convictions and better information.

"It is the baby on the breast that I dislike the most"

If it helps, I felt physically weird at the thought of breastfeeding my baby before she came. I couldn't look at photos or videos of people doing it.

Outwardly, I said I'd give it a try and just feed her for a few days or a week for the benefit. Internally, I wasn't so sure.

She's nearly 1 now and I'm not planning to stop. I don't even remember our first feed, it just happened. I think my hormones took over 😆 😆

Haha! I hope that something magical comes over me at birth and I have some strong need to breastfeed and all the negative feelings about it disappear
I suppose If I prepare with colostrum if I still can’t bring myself to do it at least I’ll have that back up to rid myself of the guilt

Absolutely any colostrum you can give is super helpful. Give it one go and if you truly dislike it then stop :)

I wasn't keen on BF (though I went along with it) but it did feel "right" once the babies arrived.

With eldest we had issues and gave up after couple of weeks. Won't bore you with details but wish I'd bottle or mixed fed him earlier.

Youngest was easier and mixed fed her. She would happily take boob or bottle.

Different experiences different babies. Don't try and pre-think it too much, do a bit of prep and then go with what you want xx

Op, I wanted to breastfeed but there was a lot going on at the time and for various reasons i couldn't get the latch. Anyway, at the hospital they showed me how to express colostrum into a syringe which I could then feed to DD. When my milk came in I started expressing, so she does have breast milk just not from my breast. I'll be honest it's very tiring and time consuming (I have an electric pump and have to do each breast for 20 minutes every 4 hours). But this is an option too. Please don't feel pressured by anyone, you have to do what makes you comfortable. After all, the best thing for your baby is a happy mum. Even if you only feed baby colostrum for the first day or two you don't need to do it by breast.

When I was in hospital with mine the nurses called colostrum liquid gold. They said every small drop made a difference it's that strong. I fed mine for a few days by expressing the colostrum and first milk then made the switch to formula, my milk dried up in a couple days. It hurt quite a bit for a couple days but didn't last long. Good luck.

Aww amazing guys thanks so much.
I don’t know why I didn’t consider colostrum collection more actually - it has to be more beneficial than one feed of it!
I’ve watched a few videos, read some articles and ordered some syringes so feeling more positive about this now.
Can’t thank you all enough!