It doesn’t have to be all or nothing.
A new study that was published in the Journal of Pediatrics found that deciding to give your baby formula after first breastfeeding is actually tied to higher rates of improved breastfeeding in their early months.
The author of the study, Valerie Flaherman, MD, an attending pediatrician at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital San Francisco said that if babies experience weight loss in their first few days or weeks, it’s a good idea to give them formula and will have no hindrance to breastfeeding them.
The research saw 164 exclusively breastfed infants between one and three days old being studied.
Their weight loss was in the 75th percentile or above. Half of them were given syringe-fed formula for the first few days of their lives until their mothers’ breastmilk came in. The other half were just exclusively breastfed.
Valerie said: “Our research shows that in healthy newborns with pronounced weight loss, adding formula for a limited period did not interfere with breastfeeding.
“These results indicate that it may be time for guidelines to include specific guidance about which infants may benefit from supplementation until the mother’s milk comes in.”
“The targeted use of a limited volume of syringe-fed formula may provide the best of both worlds: improved hydration in the first few days, with sustained breastfeeding over the first month,” she says.
