I am in a situation where I am needing to start feeding my soon to be 3 month old formula exclusively over breast milk. I wanted to know if any parents who have children 1 year and older ever experienced major health issues with their children who were exclusively formula fed.
Newborn & Baby - 17 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
My son is 13 months & no problems
2 :
If you have no choice, don't worry about it. Some will have health concerns as a result and some won't but you can only do what you can - no more x
3 :
I NEVER breastfed my daughter & she is GREAT!! She's only ever had one cold & it only lasted for 4 days!! No other problems whatsoever! Formula feeding is NOT BAD at all!! Formula today is more like breast milk than ever before...your baby will be just fine! Don't worry & get to mixing formula! :)
4 :
My son is 6 now. He had no health problems. My SIL breastfed all three of her kids exclusively. They were sick all of the time. So, I don't buy into the whole breast being healthiest idea. I think formula and breast milk are very similar.
5 :
My oldest daughter was breastfed for 6months, then exclusively formula fed. She is now 3 years old and has asthma and chronic ear infections. It's impossible to say if it's because I only nursed for 6 months or not.
6 :
Formula does not even compare to breast milk. However, if you have no choice I know * a lot * of people who fesd their babies formula and they all seem fine.
7 :
My daughter was fed formula and she never gets sick, she has not had any illnesses on 4 years, and her last illness was only throw up after eating at TGI Fridays one afternoon so I think she had food poisoning. She had ear infection and tubes as a toddler but her specialist said this had to do with her development and her dad had same problem and so he said this was just a development that was genetic in nature, as he said would happen after the tubes she had never had another ear infection again, she lost the tubes as she outgrew them and she developed and has not had any ear problems again so he had told me this problem had nothing at all to do with formula feeding even though ear infections are more common in formula fed babies as she would have had issues anyway.
8 :
My niece was breastfed until she was a little over a year old and she is as healthy as she can be. She has never had any stomach or gas problems, etc. In fact, she didn't get sick until AFTER she stopped breastfeeding. My nephew, on the other hand, was breastfed for two months and when he was switched over to formula feeding he started getting all sorts of problems. Sour tummy, gas, bad spit-ups, etc. Though formula isn't "unhealthy", I personally believe it doesn't protect infants getting sick like breastfeeding does. Breastfeeding helps the immune system develop (when formula doesn't), as well as provides lots of anti-viruses for the baby. It provides 100% correct nutrition. Overall, it's better for the baby.
9 :
My son would not breastfeed, so he has been on formula for a year now. He is perfectly healthy and had never even gotten sick. Don't worry, your baby will be fine.
10 :
My daughter would no longer take breastmilk after 3 months, she's had no major (or even many minor) health concerns that don't normally happen in our family (for instance, eczema is a family condition, we've had it for generations, so when she had the same old pattern that's what everyone else had whether they were exclusively breastfed or not. And for the record, I have the worst allergies in the family and I was breastfed the longest.) Studies have been showing more and more that the only health benefits of breastmilk are increased antibodies that may help fighting off diseases, and an increase of intelligence (about 2-3 points, which may be more explained by the behavior of breastfeeding... ie, the babies are held every time, talked to more often, snuggled, etc.) Everything else, from allergies, increase of cancer, obesity, etc are correlations that have more to do with the health of the mother and genetic health of the baby. (For instance, a mother who breastfeeds is less likely to have cancer, and a baby who breastfeeds is less likely to have cancer. Alright, a mother who doesn't breastfeed is more likely to be a mother who has supply issues, and she is more likely to have hormonal imbalances that increase her risk for cancer and have nothing to do with whether she breastfeeds or not, but does make it more difficult for her to breastfeed, and this hormonal imbalance, while the baby was in the womb, would have affected the baby and genetically makes the baby more likely to have cancer as an adult, no matter WHAT the baby is fed.) Don't feel guilty for doing what is best for your baby. Breastfeeding is still best, for as long as you can keep it up it's best, even if you only do one feeding a day or express 1/2 an oz for them a day. But if you have to stop, and there's not much of a choice here, then formula is not poison or conclusively connected to health problems. Correlated, yes, but not causing them.
11 :
I don't know what your doctor is telling you but you probably could still breastfeed and have him be alright...check out this website..it explains that in very very rare cases do babies need to be on formula. http://www.drjacknewman.com/default.asp
12 :
The only time my daughter had health issues was when she was breastfed. We've had no problems with formula. She's very happy and healthy.
13 :
My son was formula fed starting at 3 months. He was sick all the time-Constant colds, pneumonia, viruses. But-He's 4 now, and he's perfectly healthy, rarely gets sick. My daughter, who was breastfed for 2 years, gets sick far more often. Frankly, I think it depends on the kid, not the way they are fed.
14 :
No my son has never suffered from any major health problems, minus the occasional cold. He's actually a really healthy boy. I had my son on a lactose free, organic, formula. I gave him probiotics to help with gut health. Now he's a healthy & happy 7 year old.
15 :
My oldest is formula feed and never had any ear infection. She only have one high fever when she's almost 9 months old. She's 2 years old now and very healthy. My youngest is 4 months old and also formula feed. She hasn't got sick yet. Formula isn't poison. it wouldn't make your baby unhealthy! And its just depend on your child not how you feed them.
16 :
My daughter is 22 months old and was formula fed from 2 weeks to 11.5 months. She has never had more than a mild flu.
17 :
My daughter is 18 months and I have breastfed with minimal formula supplements until now. And she has had a lot of health problems. So even though statistics say breastfeeding is better (which it is if you can do it,) babies who are breastfed can still have issues. My daughter had 6 or 7 ear infections and needed to get tubes placed in her ears, which it has stopped them dead in their tracks. She has had numerous colds and pink eye. And the two biggies were that she was hospitalized at 12 months and then again at 13 months almost in the PICU with RSV, pneumonia, bronchiolitis and then bronchitis. Shes never around smoke and she is breastfed. Crazy right? EDIT: I do want to add that I had ear tubes, so that part of it is probably genetic.
Read more discussions :
- How will this mother pay for her children's health...
- What if I don't want my child on my health insuran...
- i pay child support and health coverage.. can i ge...
- Does anyone here pay for their Health Insurance (a...
- how do you think would the health state of a schoo...
- i pay child support for health insurance and i hav...
- How to start a hoe health agency for medicaid chil...
- Can anyone help me with my home work.list implicat...
