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Home / Healthcare & Medicine / Fertility & Birth / Infant Nutrition: from Breastfeeding to Baby's First Solids / Best-practice feeding with formula

Best-practice feeding with formula

In this video, Dr Rachel Laws discusses the use of infant formula feeding and provides some practical advice for parents who need or choose to use it.
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RACHEL LASWS: While we all know breast is best, the reality is that in Australia at least, about half of all babies are fed with some formula in the first six months of life. In fact, every year, the equivalent of $41 billion US dollars is spent on infant formula around the world. This equates to a lot of formula use. Hello, I’m Doctor Rachel Laws. I’m a research fellow with an interest in early life nutrition and obesity prevention at Deakin University’s Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition. Evidence tells is that formula fed babies are more likely to experience rapid weight gain, and as a result, become overweight in their later years.
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This is why it’s important to promote breastfeeding, but for mums that can’t or choose not to breastfeed, it’s also important that we support them to feed formula in the best way possible to promote the optimal growth and lifetime health of their babies. This practise formula feeding is covered in quite a lot of detail in both the Australian infant feeding guidelines and also in app and website Deakin University has developed for parents. In these resources, we’ve identified important take home messages for parents about what to feed, how to make up formula appropriately, and the best way to feed them.
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When it comes to choosing an infant formula, parents should firstly be encouraged to choose a formula with a lower amount of protein to promote healthy growth rates. Too much protein may make a baby grow too rapidly, which is not good for their health. All formulas are required to have a protein content within the range of 1.3 to 2 grammes per 100 millilitres, but choosing a formula at the lower end of this range is preferable. Secondly, follow the instructions on the tin.
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Sounds easy, but evidence suggests that many parents don’t do this, so this means using the right scoop, the one that came with the tin, using level lightly packed scoops but not over or under filling it, and adding water first and then the powder to ensure that the formula isn’t under or over concentrated. It’s also important not to add anything else like honey, sugar, cereals, or crushed biscuits to the bottle. Thirdly, be responsive when feeding your baby. This means only offering a bottle when your baby show signs of hunger, rather than offering a bottle on a pre-determined schedule, and not pressuring the baby to finish the bottle and not using milk to settle a baby that isn’t hungry.
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My final take home message is to introduce babies to a cup at six months of age with the aim of phasing out bottles completely by their first birthday.

For new parents who can’t or choose not to breastfeed, it’s important that we support them to feed formula in the best way possible to promote the optimal growth and lifetime health of their babies.

In this video, Dr Rachel Laws provides an overview of the best way to include formula feeding for parents who either can’t or choose not to breastfeed.

Rachel also covers a number of important take-home messages for parents about formula feeding, including:

  • what to feed (choice of formula)
  • how to make up formula appropriately
  • the best way to feed babies formula.

These messages will help support parents to feed formula in the best way possible to promote the optimal growth and lifetime health of their babies.

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This content is taken from
Deakin University online course,

Infant Nutrition: from Breastfeeding to Baby's First Solids

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Your task

Watch the video and reflect on the selection, preparation and feeding of formula, and share your thoughts in the comments.

How does this compare to your current advice and/or practice?

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This content is taken from Deakin University online course
Infant Nutrition: from Breastfeeding to Baby's First Solids
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Infant Nutrition: from Breastfeeding to Baby's First Solids

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