Impact of EBF v Combined

[NEladybird1269]

Hi all - this isn’t a EBF v formula bashing thread, but asking a genuine question what the impact on baby is of EBF v combined. By combined I specially mean all feeds are BF except one bottle of 70ml formula (so mum can sleep).

I am not looking for comments on mum’s mental health, tiredness, mum’s milk supply etc, just specifically an understanding on the impact on baby of EBF v combined as set out above. I can’t find much clearly online.

baby is 1 month.

I guess to expand on why I am asking -
my dc1 was EBF,for a year, dc2 we had to introduce formula top up as advised by midwives on week one due to weight loss. We stopped top ups just a few days later as weight gain was fine, but kept the one bottle. I feel a bit of guilt keeping the bottle for my own needs due to how I fed dc1.

thank you in advance ☺️

No impact. It would be impossible to determine the impact on one child. The sample size wouldn’t be big enough to make any meaningful inferences.

I ebf DS1 too. I had twins and planned to combination feed but they had a milk allergy so ended up ebf again. I honestly found it so hard and was unbelievably sleep deprived. I think it took me years to recover afterwards. It probably seemed like I was coping and dc gained weight but felt like I was torturing myself.

It’s really important that you are supported to feed and rest in a way thst works for your entire family. You are balancing up your needs with your baby and your toddler, if that means a bottle or two of formula a day then its fine. In the same way you dont compare children as all different, your parenting of children will be different as circumstances have changed.

On a population level exclusive breastfeeding is more protective for things such as allergies, asthma etc than combination feeding.

However, combination feeding offers more protection than fully formula feeding.

The CHILD cohort study has some good information which is very readable with lovely infographics if you wanted to look at some information yourself. Their asthma information has a good breakdown of modes of feeding.

Incidentally, what you feed your baby makes very little difference to their sleep and sleep studies suggest that breastfeeding mums actually get more sleep overall than formula feeding mums.

Ultimately you do what's right for you and your family set up. If giving a bottle of formula is what you find helps you too keep going then that's much better for you and for your baby than not breastfeeding at all.

I can’t believe all the drama about formula milk, for some babies/families it works for them, and that’s great. Other families/babies/mums prefer EBF and are able to do this without formula or impact on the family / mum, and that’s fine too. I really hate hearing mothers / people giving their disparaging remarks about formula fed / combi …. It doesn’t affect the baby badly, except under rare cases but there are still
alternatives

My DD was breastfed with one bottle of formula daily. It had a hugely positive impact on her. She grew and thrived.

Thanks all. I meant to add but I can’t edit my Op now - the midwife once dc2 started gaining wait after the formula top ups specifically said I shud try and drop my 70ml ff bottle as bf is best. So before that I felt ok with the one bottle then it made me doubt myself.
@OakleyStreetisnotinChelsea thanks I will check out your suggestion now

The differences are very, very subtle esp for the individual child. For mothers, EBF delays the return of menstruation compared to combination feeding (on average). For babies, EBF gives a slight (very slight) extra protection from stomach bugs and the protection is greatest under three months, but that protection disappears (statistically speaking) once they can crawl and eat solids and put their hands in their months. Protection from ear infections is almost indistinguishable between EBF and combination fed and will continue for months to years after breastfeeding ends - breastfeeding at all is very helpful against ear infections at the population level, it's not totally clear why. EBF and breastfed babies on solids have lower rates of respiratory illness until breastfeeding stops (as it will for every child!), and then they temporarily have higher rates of respiratory illness while they catch up on delayed viruses. This is from the TEDDY study which is UK or NL, can't remember which.

I combination fed for eight months, it suited me, I didn't want to pump (and baby was jaundiced but you are well past that stage). You have to do what works for you and your baby. Don't let anyone make you feel guilty for your choice!

No measurable impact, don't stress about it.

As others have said the impact will be very little. However I'm sure you've considered this bit with my DS, he quickly developed a preference for the bottle. He started becoming fussier at the breast, obviously the let down wasn't as fast as what he got with the bottle. So then he wanted more bottle, I gave it to him to settle him and it was a cycle until he ended up more bottle than breast. That's obviously fine as well but just something to think about. I really wanted to do 'just one feed' as bottle but baby didn't get the memo!

All I would add is don’t beat yourself up about whatever you decide. I did and it really wasn’t worth my angst! My baby was exclusively formula fed and was never ill. And I’m not just saying that, she’s a teen now, never missed a day of nursery over 4 years and has only missed 2 days of school ever in 9 years. She has no allergies and still has never had a sickness bug or any sort of infection. That’s just us and probably some great luck on our part but it’s pretty remarkable as all I heard back when she was a baby was that she wouldn’t have a good immune system if not EBF. Do what works for you 🙂

I’ve got 3 DCs.

One of them was combination fed for the first few months, then I made the switch to formula because I found pumping a pain in the arse.
One of them has some complex medical issues and needed a specialist prescription formula.
One of them was breastfed directly for 3 years and never had a single drop of formula.

You never know which kid was which unless I told you 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️
They've all been pretty much the same when it comes to their general health - they don’t get ill very often, none of them has ever had an ear infection.
They were all equally shitty sleepers.
They are all doing equally as well as eachother academically.

As much as I believe the science about the benefits of breastfeeding, my DCs are living proof that feeding method when they are babies doesn’t make a huge, obvious difference in anything day to day.

It’ll not have a noticeable impact. My first was combination fed and the second EBF. They’re both great kids. The most important thing is that they’re fed and they’ll grow up loved and cared for.

Ah that sounds frustrating! As a counterpoint DH did one bottle feed, 10.30 every night from birth-1. All other feeds BF until I went back to work at 9months. Baby didn't ever reject either.

Risk for you - your period will come back sooner. Delaying my periods coming back was important to me.

Bottle preference is a risk, how would you feel if baby started refusing the breast?

Consider risk of CMPA. It became obvious mine had CMPA around the 6 weeks mark. If they have this, then all formula, except the shit tasting prescription stuff, is off the cards. So if my supply hadn't been established, I would have had a tough road trying to get him on prescription formula. And research shows breastfed babies get over CMPA more quickly, according to our paedetrician.

No long-term impact to the child whatsoever I would think. I EBF both of mine but there will be no difference in their health now compared to their peers who were formula fed as babies or a mixed fed. They were both fed the exact same way but are different in general health, sports ability, academics etc as children are all different.

I can’t imagine it would make any difference unless it caused digestive upset.

The only thing I’d say is if this is the way you want to go make sure it’s your partner doing the making up of the bottle, the feeding, the settling and the cleaning/sterilising. Otherwise, it’s hardly a break for you because it’s creating a lot more work. One of mine was EBF and the other was combi fed and then FF. The combi/FF was way more work. If you’re going to do it to have a break, make sure you aren’t just adding more work and stress to your plate.