why can't newborns have powdered formula?

[robinredbreast]

this is something i don't know

Should still mix / shake it well....however you warm it up

Oh FFS, that's on a boycott Nestle site. Of course they are going to say anything that is bad about formula feeding. My two loved it!

DQ, yes, it's a boycott Nestle site. They're not anti-ffeeding though - please read it and you'll see it's a pro safe ffeeding piece.

don't feel guilty!

oh come on haveyourselfanortylittlexmas what sort of scientist relies on common sense?

Just read Hunker's link (not the boycott nestle one, btw, if that makes a difference ). So you are to take a flask of hot water out and make it up fresh - presumably this must be over 70'c, then that formula needs cooling down before use. Bit of a bugger if you're out on a picnic I'd say. I wonder if many people actually follow that advice?

Having just had number 4 (she's 4 days old) it's very interesting to see the difference in the MW's attitudes towards BF and formula regarding how many children you have. With the first 2 there was little chance of me even mentioning formula, number 3 they asked me everyday what I was doing and with this one they haven't even bothered with any "BREAST IS BEST". mmmmmmmm We are mixing now BF about 4 times a day and the rest of the time, ready made cartons!! Baby is doing well!

Not many, NB.

Can I just say that when I was researching this (prior to this thread, and for this thread) I came across the information on the Mike Brady blog in many other places - infant formula's not sterile, formula companies don't want to put that on the tins, etc, etc. He writes very well, his stuff's always backed up with references and he's not anti-formula.

that's good to hear, mrsj.

cuz my depression is already back and i'm only 7 weeks along this time.

i want to make sure i can take whatever meds i need to cope after this one is born, so that's going to mean this baby will need formula-fed.

i had already been realistic with myself and knew i wasn't going to be able to cope on my own with a newborn, a 5-year-old with developmental delays on holiday from her last year of nursery and a 2.5 year old and i have no help or money to hire help.

so it's going to be ff from the get go.

hunker are you still about?

hunker don't know if this is the right place to ask you this as i don't want to upset anyone but im shocked i truely never knew that about powdered formula
ive been ex bf dd for 4 months and for the last month ive been giving one bottle at night[ready to feed],to give myself a rest as dd feeds so frequently,would i actually be able to go back to ex bf? or is it too late? what other risks are there with ready to feed?

i gave my ds powdered fomula from birth and he never had a problem never ever heard you were not supposed to sounds like bs to me,i always boiled the water when it cooled for a little while put in formula shook it then put it in the fridge when it was cold,heated in a bottle warmer

i think the reason your not supposed to microwave to heat it is because if you dont shake it some of it is cold and some of it is hot apparantly but common sense to shake would be obvious i would have thought

I never saw the point in heating formula tbh. Both my dcs have taken it at room temp. Makes it much easier for going out and about too. Also I have always made up the bottles in advance. I often boil the kettle before I go to bed and then make up the bottles with it in the morning. My dcs have never been ill. Not saying this is the right way to do it but I've had no problems. And, using those instructions, if you're feeding on demand you're going to have a baby screaming for half an hour if they get hungry earlier than you expect, if you have to boil the kettle and wait for the water to cool. Ds has his bottle in seconds because the water is already cool and the formula already measured out in tubs.

dd is 18mo and from 6weeks she was ff
i would boil the kettle pour into sterile bottles put lids on cool in sink of cold water and cold running tap till cold enough to hold the bottle by hand then added powder and returned to cool further before putting in fridge.
she drank at room temp so no re-heating quickly cooled into sterile bottles i used a thermal bottle bag to keep it cold
she has not been ill now on full fat cows milk though

Giving ready-to-feed reduces the risk of enterobacter sakersakii and salmonella, either of which can be present in powerdered formula and which can cause serious illness and even death in young babies. This is rare and the risk is very, very small, but it's what lies behind the new guidance.

Ready-to-feed is more expensive and basically, you are paying for water to be transported and stored. You have the water in your taps, so with careful attention to hygiene, powerdered formula is no more risky than RTF. There is no official guidance that young babies 'ought' to have RTF - just that parents need to be aware of why powerdered needs to be prepared carefully.

I am always surprised when people (like amy, down thread) think this advice is bullshit, or they (like norty) use their common sense, and just disregard the guidance. The good thing about the web is you can read the guidance, and look at the basis for it, and then decide what to do. But I can't think why knee jerk reactions to dismiss it all have a role to play when you're deciding on something like keeping your baby healthy....

GillL - that's all very well if you DC will take a bottle of room temp milk - neither of my 2 FF DS's would despite trying from the start to offer it at room temp.

it's a wonder my ds is still hear if all the conflicting advice is anything to go by. 18 months ago when he was a newborn it was apparently fine to put boiling water in bottles and keep them in the fridge. i didn't make up the bottles i just added the formula to the bottles when needed and warmed them up (usually in a bowl of hot water). if you're not meant to take formula out separately from the water why do formula manufacturers sell the milk container things?