Infant formula-how much to feed my baby? Why I should not overfeed.

Breast feeding is best for babies, and please review this entire playlist which explains why breastfeeding is important to all babies and what we can do to support the same • Breast milk and breast...
I am making this short series on infant formula feeding, not because I endorse formula feeding, but because I recognize a small proportion of mothers need to use some infant formula despite their best efforts, and they need support as well. It is very important to be meticulous about sterilisation of the bottle etc (which I will outline in a later video), and it is very important to maintain breastfeeding as best as you can, even if you do need some formula feeds (and please be careful when you make that decision, as giving more formula will drop your milk output). The family members have to support the mother's efforts to breastfeed, and avoid pushing them to give infant formula.
In this video, I discuss how to decide how much to feed the baby. Please individualize to your baby's needs, and follow the feed pattern similar to what I have discussed earlier (regarding feed volume and gap between feeds) to avoid colic, reflux etc. I hope this series is useful, do share.
It is very important to get the cues right and not to push the baby to complete the feed volume. Over feeding can happen even with breastfeeding (I will share the video link below). It is very important to educate the parents right from the start regarding the feeding pattern, so we can prevent reflux happening. In the first 7-10 days, we expect the baby to feed almost every 2 hours-this is because the milk production is increasing, the baby has a small stomach and the volume is gradually increasing. This frequent feeding pattern helps to empty the breasts and encourages establishment of lactation. After the milk output has increased (we can make this out by the improving urine output, satiety, sleep pattern as well as the weight gain during clinic reviews), the mother can be advised to relax about the cue interpretation. Most experienced mothers start spacing feeds reasonably well at this time, and breastfed babies can go 2-5 hours between feeds. Educate the mother that the longer the gap between feeds (with upper limit of 5-6 hours), the better it is in terms of colic, reflux and stool frequency/nappy rash. Unless we try to space, babies keep persisting with the pattern they are used to, and since the milk output has increased, they get excessive milk at a high frequency. This impacts on their ability to digest the lactose load as well (as this is gradually increasing in the babies, and a rapid load will mean they exceed their ability to digest the lactose)-this leads to the physiologic lactose intolerance that we referred to earlier (will link the write-up on lactose intolerance). The babies have an active gastrocolic reflex, and the more often they feed, the more often they pass stools. Combining this with the physiologic lactose intolerance, you have the higher risk of diaper or nappy rash as well. Colic tends to be more related to this and because they feed before the stomach is emptied, reflux occurs as well. As you can see, these patterns are all linked. And it is important to start the education early, so the mother watches for signs of improving output and avoids entering this cycle.
Breast feeding is best for babies, and please review this entire playlist which explains why breastfeeding is important to all babies and what we can do to support the same • Breast milk and breast...
Please review the above playlist I shared above to know
(a) the benefits and superiority of breast-feeding;
(b) the preparation for, and the continuance of, breast-feeding;
(c) the harmful effects on breast-feeding due to the partial adoption of bottle feeding;
(d) the difficulties in reverting to breast-feeding of infants after a period of feeding by infant milk
substitute;
(e) the financial and social implications in making use of infant milk substitutes and feeding
bottles;
(f) the health hazards of improper use of infant milk substitutes and feeding bottles
#infantfeeding #infantformula #babyfeeding