vegetarian follow-on formula milk

[genia]

Hi
Does anybody know of a definitely vegetarian brand of follow on milk with no vitamins derived from fish oil etc...?

Have you tried the SMA ones genia. Have a look at this site as you may find it useful.

www.smanutrition.co.uk/hcp/ProductInformation/guide1.htm

There is absolutely no reason to use follow-on milk. Just keep using what you have. Formula or breast is all that is needed until one. Follow-on milk is a manufacturer's ploy to get you onto their product, especially trying to get breastfeeders.

I found that some of the follow on milks are actually cheaper..probably because they arent as popular!

I know that my vetetarian friend used to use WYSOY for her children and now that DD is milk intolerant and can't have normal milk she has been prescribed WYSOY until she is 5 years old. AFAIK follow on milks just have some added fats to make them more filling, I don't think they have any additional nutritional elements.

WYSOY is made by SMA, is approved by the Vegetarian Society (according to the tin) and is widely available in chemists and some supermarkets.

Im not disputing what you are saying Pam, but wasnt there a lot of debate about the things that went into the soya milks. I thought that I remembered reading something about it fairly recently.

Why is it that if you have a child who is just milk intolerant you seem to be able to get Soya milk on prescription, but if like use you have one who is milk AND soya intolerant, you have to pay for the even more expensive alternative yourself? Not sure if that's a general rule, or just postcode prescribing actually (it's just about impossible to get anything on prescription here which can be bought over the counter) as I know of other people who get things like bath emollients and excema creams on prescription, but we have to pay for those too.

I think because I am told to give DD the WYSOY by the hospital dietician then the doctors have to prescribe it. It is the policy at our surgery that only 3 tins per month can be prescribed and in the early days this wasn't enough so I also had to buy some (at £10 per tin compared with £3 for normal milk at reduced rates as we were claiming WFTC). I think it is very much a postcode lottery but children with multiple allergies should certainly be entitled to prescription milk.

Temptress, I know that there have been concerns about soya being genetically modified etc and that soya milk can cause tooth decay due to the added sugars but I haven't heard anything else. It is SMA themselves who claim that WYSOY is vegetarian society approved.

Hi genia

Cow and Gates follow on milk is suitable for vegetarians. I give it to DS to help with his iron intake as we're vegetarian. I don't know how it compares with normal formula as I've never used it, so couldn't say if its a marketing con!

Hope this helps

Temptress - the reason that follow on milks can be cheaper is that the companies are allowed to compete on price for milk for babies over 6 months, whereas UK regulations forbid price competition (or any other kind of promotion for that matter) for babies under 6 months.

Wouldnt that be a valid reason to change to follow on? If its a more competitive price but still supplying the same nutrients wouldnt it benefit parents whilst not compromising babies?

Do follow-on milks have more iron than regular formula?

Yes they do, Phillipat.

I thought there were problems with soya milk and oestrogen? Some sort of female hormone anyway. I can't remember where I read/heard this though.

RE follow on milks and ion, I used to think this but apparently it's not true as it is not so easily absorbed so most of it goes straight through the digestive system (or something like that). Having said that, I gave/give it to DS1 and 2 for that very reason. Silly huh?

(that may well have been about follow on milks haveing more iron than cows milk though)

I think the slightly dodgy thing about follow on milks is that they can be promoted, whilst the formulas designed for use from birth can't. So dividing the products up like this allows the formula companies to advertise SOMETHING and thus raise general brand awareness.

soupdragon, follow ons definitely have more iron in them than standard formulas, and both have more than cow's milk. But since the standard formula is supposed to be fine to one year, I guess the extra iron can't be strictly necessary. Though, like you, that was the reason I chose the follow on once I'd finished b/f.

Gillw my ds2 is allergic to dairy soya and wheat (and disposable nappies), and he is prescribed neocate advance, which is dairy and soya free. There is also neocate and nutramigen which are dairy and soya free too. If you can get referred to a dietician you should be able to get it on precription. He also gets wheat free pasta and bread prescribed too.

Thanks Nettie for info re. Cow and Gate...

Follow on has more iron than doorstep milk - that's why many babies are dreadfully constipated on it. They can't absorb it and while most iron is excreted (and therfore 'wasted', some isn't, or only with difficulty. I think some babies on these boards suffered from this - a search would find examples.

A web search will show concerns about soya - mainly aluminium content, sugar content (needs to be very high to make the milk at all palatable), oestrogen content and GM. It's up to you and how you read the info to decide how much of a concern these issues would be.

Didn't mean to put a winky in my message about wasted, sorry....should preview before posting!

genia - we used cow and gate too (says veggie on the packet). It isn't as universally available as SMA.
I rang SMA helpline and they said that some of their's is veggie but other tins aren't (the ones packaged in Ireland are veggie), and that I would have to take the batch number and ring them each time I bought some to find out whether it was okay or not!