Introduction of fresh milk to infants

hello, in case it is useful this is from our First Steps Nutrition Trust infantmilks website (for use in the UK) (www.infantmilkinfo.org - Types of infant milk and ingredients - (infantmilkinfo.org))

Please note that FSNT recommends optimal infant and young child feeding practices as per WHO guidelines (and UK recommendations, which also promote immediate and exclusive BF for the first 6 months) and the following information is given in the context of information about formula use for formula fed babies (hence the refernce to formula here and there).

Why is it recommended that infants (under 12 months) are not given whole cows’ milk as the main milk drink?

Whilst the majority of infant formula in the UK are based on the protein from cows’ milk, unmodified cows’ milk is not suitable as the main milk drink for infants in the first year of life. The immature kidneys of infants are not able to manage the concentration of solutes in whole cows’ milk and the use of infant formula (pre 1970’s) based on unmodified cows’ milk is understood to have been responsible for some infants suffering from severe and even fatal hypernatraemia, hypocalcaemic tetany and convulsions. Legislation now ensures that all infant formula available in the UK contain safe levels of protein and minerals.

In addition, the iron in cows’ milk is poorly absorbed because it is complexed with ligands, principally phosphate. Introduction of cows’ milk to infants aged 6 months has also been associated with small losses of blood from the intestinal tract and observational studies have consistently shown negative associations of unmodified cows’ milk consumption with iron status indicators throughout infancy and early childhood.

At what age can cows’ milk be used as the main drink?

Most children do not need an infant formula after 1 year of age and cows’ milk can be the main milk drink from 1 year of age for most children who are not breastfed. Whilst cows’ milk is the most widely consumed animal milk in the UK, other pasteurised animal milks may provide a suitable alternative. You can find further information on the role of different animal milks in young children’s diets in our briefing paper: ‘Animal milks in the diets of children aged 1-4 years’.

Where there are concerns about the quantity and quality of food consumed, health professionals may recommend continued use of first infant milk into the second year, but this is rare, and food should be the main source of nutrients for toddlers. From 1 year of age children should get the majority of their energy and nutrients from food.

Best wishes

Vicky 

Thanks for the interesting question and answer, to note that in UNICEF key message booklet, it's written on page 32: "A minimum of 2 cups of milk each day is recommended for all children under 2 years of age who are no longer breastfeeding.This milk can be either commercial infant formula, that is prepared according to directions, or animal milk, which should always be boiled for children who are less than 12 months old. It can be given to the baby as a hot or cold beverage, or can be added to porridge or other foods."

Ref: https://www.unicef.org/media/108411/file/Key%20Message%20Booklet.pdf

This is a message for non-breastfed children. The booklet is dated 2012, I didn't find a revised version online.

Surely, we have inconsistent messages...

Thanks

I agree  that we have inconsistencies between current research and WHO guidelines.

This also affects practice when working with different cadres handling the same child.

The rule is we follow WHO guidelines which are also well explained by UNICEF...but we need current WHO guidelines on the same..2012 is not current.

In Germany we recommend fresh milk to be given as drink to young children when they are one year old. But, (cows) milk can be utilized to prepare porridge to onfants beyond 6 months of age. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7575031/)

Hello,

Thank you for your recent response to the Intro of fresh milk to infants. May I ask some clarification about your response, specifically - do you recommend fresh milk over human milk (thinking about the global infant feeding recommendation is to continue breastfeeding to two years and beyond)?

Thank you for clarifying.

Hi there, 

Apologies everyone, my last question re fresh milk to one year olds was intended for Michael K. who wrote about Germany's recommendations at one year olds. 

Avez-vous un document qui indique combien de CTCE (centres thérapeuthiques de consultation externe), TSFP (alimentation complémentaire ciblée), SCs sont nécessaires par zone géographique ?

The German recommendation is not in conflict with the global breastfeeding policy. Ut, families are advised not to feed fresh milk as a drink to infants. This is relevant because only about 50% of all infants get breastfed at the age of 6 months for various reasons.

How we can negate importance of Exclusive Breast Feeding?Question is quantity of the fesh milk which can be provided in after six month.