Infant milks: how to choose?
What is the ideal milk for an infant?
Dr. Jean-Pierre Chouraqui : The ideal food for the youngest child is obviously the milk of his mother ... But when breastfeeding is impossible, the solution is of course the bottle. Most often made from milk cow - the composition of which is closest to that of the milk many milks are today on the market. Considerable progress has been made in recent years in baby formulas for babies, for example, to provide elements intended to mimic the functional benefits of milk maternal (probiotics, long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, protein quality, etc.)
Which milk to choose?
The choice of milk is usually done in consultation with the pediatrician. It is based essentially on criteria relating to the composition of the milk and the tolerance of the child. The important thing is to avoid inadvertent changes in milkas useless as they are deleterious.
There are generally three broad categories of milks Infantile:
- Infant formulas (1st age) for the exclusively milky feeding period ie up to 4 or at most 6 months.
- The milks (2nd age): intended for the transition period corresponding to the gradual introduction of a diversified diet (at the earliest after 4 months and at best around 6 months).
- The milks of growth given between 9 and 12 months and if possible up to 3 years, they supplement the milk supply of the child insured by cheese and other dairy products.
There are a lot of "special" milks on the market, especially for infants, and are they better suited than conventional first milks?
These milks "special" have specific aims and should only be used on medical prescription ... This is the case, for example, with milks hypoallergenic drugs (intended to prevent allergic risk), milks thickened (against regurgitation) or milks having a therapeutic objective (for children of low birth weight or suffering from prolonged diarrhea). As for soy-based formulas (not to be confused with commercially available soy foods that are totally unsuitable for infant feeding), their indications are very limited and are rarely recommended except in specific cases.
