Hunker (or anyone else in the know) please talk to me about breastmilk mitigating *some* of the risk of formula

[chequersandchess]

I'm interested in what I've read on another thread about b/feeding helping to reduce the risks of f/f.

I don't know anything about this, but as DD is currently mixed fed I'm interested to know about this.

The mixed feeding was never planned and I am in the process of gradually reducing formula at the mo, but I'm just interested in what Hunker said on another thread, as I didn't know b/feeding could mitigate some (I realise not all) of the risks of f/f.

Thanks.

I dont know much about this but taking it logically any breast milk is better than no breast milk. Im sure there are studies to show that mixed feeding has advantages over exclusive formula. If the baby is getting any breast milk then they are going to be getting the good elements of it just in smaller amounts which is still better than nothing? kind of like eating three portions of fruit and veg is better than none even if you dont manage five?

I presume on that level that the positives of breast milk could help with some of the risks of formula - eg if the baby caught a tummy bug from bottle feeding then the immune boosting stuff in breast milk might help them fight it?

chequers, I have not seen the other thread but I can say that the studies show that infant feeding is 'dose related' ie the more breastfeeding the better, with some benefits persisting even if breastfeeding is alongside formula feeding.

So in the Millenium cohort study of 15,000 babies and hospitalisation in the first year, the greatest risk was for fully ff babies, with a lesser risk for partially ff.

That's just one study - there are others. Any breastfeeding works pretty well to reduce the risks of ff, probably because the antibodies to infection persist, even when the baby is not fully bf.

I've read hunker/tiktok say that bm is dose related, so presumably if it's half and half the protection is about 50% and so on.

wot she sed

Coool, thanks for this, I feel a bit better now

Still want to knock the formula on the head completely though, we are getting there...