cow and gate, aptimil or sma?

[camflower]

how on earth do you choose??

I got told the one that they sell in that late night garage that you will be able to buy at 2am. Don't think there is any one better than the other.

Well... With my first i chose Aptimil because i was sucked in to the hype that it was The Best..

Then i was skint and couldn't aford the extra quid so changed to C&G and DD didnt even notice so we stuck to that.

I'm Bfing Dc2 but have cartons of C&G in the cupbord in cse of emergency.. I recon it's all the same.

started on sma but baby got constipation so switched to aptimal at advice of health visitor who said it was "the best". no problems since. (did't breast feed either so she existed off since about day 3).

I used sma gold and progress with dd (now 6)and she was ok with them. I used aptamil first and hungry milk and cow and gate follow on milk for ds (now 3) and he was fine with all of them. I have seen a lot of posts in other forums about sma causing a lot of constipation issues but my dd was fine. Aptamil and cow and gate are made by the same company but C&G is cheaper so I eventually switched to C&G because I am stingy.

For whats it's worth I made my mum decide by telling her to 'come round to the house with formula!!', she just picked the one I used when Dd1 was being weaned.

p.s. dont forget hipp organic and Heinz nurture!!

know even less about hipp organic and heinz one than the others - i spent long enough dithering in supermarket isle over the other 3!

I am a midwife and put it this way all midwives use Aptamil!

Of course they do, BeaB. This is because Aptamil has targetted a lot of marketing at midwives and other HCPs - masses and masses, and presented in a way that's designed to appeal to them.

There's no reason at all to conclude this means it's better than the others

C&G.

SMA gave DD constipation so switched. DS ended up on Soya formula.

If my baby is windy, should i change the milk? He is on aptimal, thinking of cow and gate comfort?

I started on SMA as that was what was recommended. turned out DD was allergic to it so switched to C&G.

Used for subseqent children too.

Whichever is the cheapest.

Isn't Cow and Gate Nestle?

I thought midwives weren't supposed to endorse any brand of formula. [erm]

In terms of "goodness" ALL brands of formula are the same: they have to follow the same regulations, they are all made from modified dried cow's milk and here in the West we are lucky that we are able to prepare formula safely so that our babies are likely to thrive whatever we feed them.
There is NO evidence that any of them give better immunity, make babies smarter or that one of the other is generally better tolerated.
However it is of course entirely possible that one brand will agree better with one baby than another. So take your pick, doesn't really matter what you chose, and if baby is happy with it, there you go. If there are problems like consitpation etc it is of course a good idea to try another.

Marketing is a very powerful force and a lot of money is spent on brainwashing persuading HCPs which Aptamil brand to recommend.
I say all this as a formerly brainwashed HCP - learnt to look at the facts since I had DS1...

Aptamil smells like overcooked cabbage to me, and dd hated it. You may find your dc chooses for you, so don't get a huge supply in to start off with.

Beab - surely at least some midwives breastfeed?

McSnail - Nestle has no infant formula in the UK.

i went for cow and gate because i thort it had the niceist name. and i liked the picture on the box. and also my sister recomened it as it is the one she used too.

x

I am OUTRAGED that a midwife should come on here and endorse a particular formula milk. I have reported that post - let's see what happens.

agreed seeker!

i would use hipp organic as it has less stuff added to it than the others, such as fish oils and the like.. but the other tip - to buy the one that is sold at the all night garage - is a good one too

formulas are closer to each other, not to breastmilk

If your baby is windy then you may be best of changing the teats, maybe try that first?

Midwives endorsing one brand over another I believe is against the Baby Friendly Iniative.

As a student midwife we had a lecture once where the lecturer told us that Aptamil was the closest to breastmilk. I believed this for a while. I still hear midwives say it.

Stripey - I think endorsing one formula brand over another is against midwives' professional ethics.

Not that this will make any difference to the way some of them do this.....I do wonder what sort of education they get when they end up so flippin gullible at the end of it, swallowing formula manufacturers' publicity and marketing uncritically like this.

Apologies all. I think my post was misunderstood. I certainly was NOT endorsing one brand but rather referring to how advertising targets professionals as others have mentioned. I did not mean to steer the thread off in a different direction and am sorry if this is how it came across. In terms of choosing a product I think it is individual choice and would probably say go with whatever seems to suit your baby/ what is most easily avaliable to you in your local shops. Apologies once again and best wishes everyone x