Why is it ideal to breastfeed exclusively?

20 Aug

Why do doctors recommend exclusive breastfeeding?

This is in the category of unwelcome truths and I’m certainly not going to berate anyone for using formula.

In fact, if your family is already mixing formula and breastmilk you my prefer not to read, and that’s ok with me. Every drop of breastmilk you can provide for your baby is wonderful and valuable.

But, if you are ever in the situation of giving formula when expressed breastmilk could easily be available, or wondering if offering infacol or gripe water will “do no harm” the question of “Why exclusive breastfeeding”? is worth considering.

WHO recommendation:

“Infants should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life to achieve optimal growth, development and health.

Thereafter, to meet their evolving nutritional requirements, infants should receive nutritionally adequate and safe complementary foods, while continuing to breastfeed for up to two years or beyond.”.

What are the reasons for exclusive breast feeding for the first six months?

The simple answer is that before around six months your baby’s gut is not sealed, particles from formula and other products can pass easily from the baby’s gut into the body where they can affect short and long term health.

Can one bottle of formula (or more) really affect a newborn infant or derail breastfeeding? While it may sound harmless and helpful, bottles of infant formula given to newborn breastfeeding infants have been shown to interfere with the successful establishment of breastfeeding, reduce both the exclusivity and duration of breastfeeding, and permanently alter the infant gut microbiome. One bottle of formula per day for the first week of life is enough to shift the gut microbiome toward proinflammatory taxa, a condition where gut inflammation becomes the precursor to both acute and chronic diseases and conditions such as autoimmune diseases and obesity*.

And that’s why this is something I share at all my antenatal appointments info here, so often I meet families who gave just 1 or 2 tiny bottles in the postnatal ward, maybe on the second night***, and had no idea that they could have triggered (interesting work on this from Maureen Minchin**) life long allergies.

Would you would like me to visit you at home to support breastfeeding your baby? I can support with moving away from formula top-up’s.

Please see the home visits info (here).

Sally