Human breastmilk is the very best food for infants

Human breastmilk is the very best food for infants. There is no question that "breast is best". It must be kept in mind that the decision of how to feed a new baby is not just a menu choice. However, it is important that a "next best" option is available. This option is known as artificial or formula feeding. Formula feeding is not equivalent to breastfeeding. Breastfeeding has many additional non-nutritive benefits to both mother and child.

Formula feeding
A formula is a combination of food components that are manufactured to be as close as possible to the food and nutrition value of breastmilk. At this stage, these formulas lack many of the biological advantages of breastmilk. Formula feeding cannot replace breastfeeding.

Cow milk has been used as the base for formula manufacture largely because of its convenience. There are a lot of dairy cows, which are well domesticated and can produce large volumes of milk. However, cow milk is not necessarily the best choice for a baby's first food proteins. There are many major differences between cow milk and human milk, so cow milk needs to be greatly modified to make it suitable for infant consumption. Indeed, the prevalence of cow's milk allergy has been found to be about 5% of the paediatric population (that is one in 20 babies have clinical reactions to cow milk proteins). Nevertheless, cow milk is promoted as standard baby fare.

Goat milk has been used for feeding babies and children with allergies for decades. However, without being fully pasteurised and fortified, it is not a satisfactory food for infants. If goat milk is to be fed to infants, it must be as a fully constructed infant formula. Goat milk has a number of beneficial properties compared to cow milk.

Soy milk . Soy proteins are used to create an infant formula as an alternative to cow milk. These preparations are now called "soy milk" and used in babies with milk allergies. Although soy formulas have had an important role as a cow milk substitute, there is currently concerns at the high amounts of phyto-estrogen that they contain. Soy proteins have the same allergenic potential as cow milk proteins.

There are a number of good arguments to chosse a goat milk-based formula rather than cow milk:
- goat milk fats are more readily digested and absorbed.
- goat milk has a softer curd. Subsequently, its faster digestion may reduce the development of allergies.
- micronutrients such as iron, copper and calcium appear to be more bioavailable.
- there are additional beneficial biochemical substances that reduce the likelihood of gut infection and inflammation.
Price could be a disadvantage. However, the price differential is small for the benefits that can be accrued.

Summary
Goat milk has an important role in the feeding of infants who have been weaned from the breast and in those babies who have cow milk intolerance. Although there are well-documented allergic reactions to goat milk, there are also similar problems with cow milk and soy preparations. As goat milk has other nutritional benefits, a properly constructed goat milk infant formula has an important place in the nutrition of babies and children.

Dr Rodney Ford, M.D., F.R.A.C.P.
Clinical Associate Professor in Paediatrics
Christchurch, New Zealand 


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