Types of formula milk - NHS

Formula milk, also known as baby formula or infant formula, is usually made from cows' milk that has been treated to make it more suitable for babies. Skiptomaincontent Home HealthAtoZ Baby Breastfeedingandbottlefeedingadvice Howtobottlefeed Backto Howtobottlefeed Typesofformula Formulamilk,alsoknownasbabyformulaorinfantformula, isusuallymadefromcows'milkthathasbeentreatedtomakeitmoresuitableforbabies.There'sawiderangeofbrandsandtypesofformulaavailableinpharmaciesandshops. Alwayschecklabelscarefullytomakesureyou'rebuying asuitable milkforyourbaby.Formula comes in2differentforms: adrypowderyoumakeupwithwater,oraready-to-feedliquidformula.Whileready-to-feedliquidformulacanbeconvenient,ittendstobemoreexpensiveand,onceopened,needstobeusedmorequickly.Formulamilkprovides babieswiththenutrientstheyneedtogrowanddevelop.However,itdoesnothavethesamehealthbenefitsasbreastmilkforyouandyourbaby.Forexample,itcannotprotect yourbabyfrominfections. First infantformula(firstmilk)SuitablefrombirthFirstinfantformula(firstmilk)shouldalwaysbethefirstformulayougivetoyourbaby.Thecows'milkinformulacontains2typesofproteins–wheyandcasein.Firstinfantformulaisbasedonwheyproteinwhichisthoughttobeeasiertodigestthanothertypesofformula.Unlessamidwife,healthvisitororGPsuggestsotherwise,firstinfantformulaistheonlyformulayourbabyneeds.Yourbabycanstayonitwhenyoustarttointroducesolidfoodsataround6monthsand drinkitthroughouttheir1styear.There'snoevidencethatswitchingtoadifferentformuladoesanygoodorharm.However,ifyouthinkaparticularbrandofformuladisagreeswithyourbaby,talktoamidwifeorhealthvisitor.Theycanhelpyoudecidewhethertotryadifferenttype.Whenyourbabyis1yearold,theycanstarttodrinkwholecows'milk orsheep'sorgoats'milk(aslongasit'spasteurised).Findoutmoreaboutdrinkstogiveyourbaby. Goats' milkformulaSuitablefrombirthDifferentkindsofgoats'milkformulaareavailableinpharmaciesandshops. Theyareproduced tothe samenutritionalstandards ascow'smilk-basedformula.Goats'milkformulaisnotlesslikelytocauseallergiesinbabiesthancows'milkformula.Goats'milkformulasare notsuitablefor infantswithcows'milkallergy (alsoknownascows'milkproteinallergy),astheproteinstheycontainareverysimilar. Hungrier baby formula(hungrymilk)Suitablefrombirth(butaskamidwifeorhealthvisitorforadvicefirst).Thistypeofformulacontainsmorecaseinthanwhey,andcaseinisharderforbabiestodigest.Althoughit'softendescribedassuitablefor"hungrierbabies",there'snoevidencethatbabiessettlebetterorsleeplongerwhenfedthistypeof formula. Anti-reflux (staydown)formulaSuitablefrombirth(butonlyundermedicalsupervision).Thistypeofformulaisthickenedwiththeaimofpreventingrefluxinbabies (whenbabiesbringupmilkduringorafterafeed).Althoughit'savailableinpharmaciesandsupermarkets,it'srecommendedyouonlyuseitontheadviceofahealthprofessional.Theinstructionsformakingupanti-refluxformulasmaybedifferenttostandardformula.Theusualguidelinesformakingupformularecommendusingboiledwaterthathasstoodfornomorethan30minutes,sothatthetemperatureisstillabove70C.Somemanufacturersofanti-refluxformularecommendmakingitupatlowertemperaturesthanareusuallyrecommended.Otherwiseitmaygetlumpy.Followtheinstructionsonthepackorspeaktoahealthprofessionalforadvice.It'simportanttotakeextracarewhenmakingupandstoringtheseproductsaspowderedformulaisnotsterileandmakingitupatlowertemperatureswillnotkillanyharmfulbacteriaitmaycontain.Speaktoamidwife,healthvisitororGPifyouhaveanyconcerns. Comfort formulaSuitablefrombirth(butaskamidwifeorhealthvisitorforadvicefirst).Thistypeofformulacontainscows'milkproteinsthathavealreadybeenpartlybrokendown (partiallyhydrolysed).Thisissupposedtomakeiteasiertodigestandhelppreventdigestiveproblemssuchascolicandconstipation.However,there'snoevidenceforthis.Partiallyhydrolysedformulasarenotsuitableforbabieswhohavecows'milkallergy. Lactose-free formulaSuitablefrombirth(butonlyundermedicalsupervision).Thisformulaissuitableforbabieswhoarelactoseintolerant.Thismeanstheycannotabsorblactose,whichisasugarthat'snaturallyinmilkanddairyproducts.Lactoseintoleranceisrareinbabies.Symptomsincludediarrhoea,abdominalpain,windandbloating.Lactose-freeformulaisavailableinpharmaciesandshops,butifyouthinkyourbaby maybe lactoseintolerant, it'simportanttospeaktoa midwife,healthvisitororGP. Hypoallergenic formulaSuitablefrombirth(butonlyundermedicalsupervision).Ifyourbabyisdiagnosedasbeingallergictocows'milk,aGPwillprescribeanappropriateinfantformulawithfullyhydrolysed(brokendown)proteins.Formulawithpartiallyhydrolysedproteins(comfortformula) isavailableinpharmaciesandshops,butit'snotsuitableforbabieswithcows'milkallergy. Follow-on formulaSuitablefrom6months(butaskahealthvisitorforadvicefirst).Follow-onformulashouldneverbefedtobabiesunder6monthsold.Researchshowsthatswitchingtofollow-onformulaat6monthshasnobenefitsforyourbaby.Yourbabycancontinuetohavefirstinfantformulaastheirmaindrinkuntiltheyare1yearold.Thelabelsonfollow-onformulacanlookverysimilartothoseonfirstinfantformula.Readthelabelcarefullytoavoidmakingamistake. Goodnight milkSuitablefrom6months(butaskahealthvisitorforadvicefirst).Somefollow-onformulahascerealaddedtoitandissoldasa specialformula forbabiestohaveatbedtime.Thistypeofformulaisnotneeded,andthere'snoevidencethatbabiessettlebetterorsleeplongerafterhavingit.Goodnight formula shouldneverbegiventobabiesunder6monthsold. Soya formulaSuitablefrom6months(butonlyundermedicalsupervision).Soyaformulaismadefromsoyabeans,notcows'milk. It'soccasionallyusedasanalternativetocows'milkformula forbabieswhohavecows'milkallergy.Therearesomeconcernsaboutthefactthatsoyacontainsphytoestrogens.Thesearefoundnaturallyinsomeplants.Thechemicalstructureofphytoestrogensissimilartothefemalehormoneoestrogen.Becauseofthis,thereareconcernsthattheycouldaffectababy'sreproductivedevelopment,especiallyinbabieswhodrinkonlysoya-basedinfantformula.Babies'lowbodyweightmeanstheytakeinmuchhigheramountsofphytoestrogensthanolderchildrenoradultswhoeatsoyaproductsaspartofavariedandbalanceddiet.Also,becausesoyaformulacontainsglucose,soitismorelikelytoharmababy'steeth.Only usesoyaformulaifithasbeenrecommendedorprescribed byahealthvisitororGP. Growing-up milk(toddlermilk)Suitablefrom1year(butaskahealthvisitorforadvicefirst).Growing-upandtoddlermilksaremarketedasanalternativetowholecows'milkfortoddlersandchildrenover1yearold.There'snoevidencetosuggestthattheseproductsprovideextranutritionalbenefitsforyoungchildren.Wholecows'milkisasuitablechoiceasamaindrinkforyourchildfromage1.Semi-skimmedcows'milkisasuitablemaindrinkforchildrenover2whoareeatingabalanceddiet.It'srecommendedthatallchildrenaged6monthsto5yearshavevitamindropscontainingvitaminsA,CandDeveryday.Seemoreaboutvitaminsforchildren. Typesofmilk toavoidNotallmilkissuitableforfeedingbabies.Youshouldnevergivethefollowingtypesofmilktoababyunder1year:condensedmilkevaporatedmilkdriedmilkgoats'orsheep'smilk(butit'sfinetousethemwhencookingforyourbaby,aslongastheyarepasteurised)othertypesofdrinksknownas"milks",suchassoya, rice,oatoralmonddrinkscows'milkasadrink(butit'sfinetouseitincooking)Furtherinformationcombiningbreastandbottlefeedingwhatifmychildisintoleranttocows'milk? Morein Howtobottlefeed Bottlefeedingadvice Sterilisingbabybottles Howtomakeupbabyformula Typesofformula Formulamilk:commonquestions Howtocombinebreastandbottlefeeding Pagelastreviewed:17October2019 Nextreviewdue:17October2022