Differences between formulas

See Suzanne Barston, CLC's video on Differences between formulas...
Differences between formulas | Kids in the House
KidsInTheHouse the Ultimate Parenting Resource
Kids in the House Tour

Differences between formulas

Most people think there are no differences between formulas and all formulas are the alike. And this is simply not true. Here´s the thing. All formulas are going to feed your child and nourish your child just fine and they all have to adhere to certain standards set forth by the International Formula Council and the FDA. But the thing is they do differ. And as any sensitive baby can attest, some babies do great on one brand and not the other even with the normal formula. I am not even talking about sensitive versus soy. So it´s really important to realize that if one formula isn´t working for your child, another one probably will. Now the different kinds of formulas, the first category are just your regular milk based formulas. Now these include like your Similac Advanced or any of the ones you are usually given in the hospital if your hospital does give out samples. Most babies will tolerate these just fine but some don´t. And if they don´t, then your next step is usually to try a sensitive formula, which is also milk based but these contain what´s called partially hydrolized proteins. Now, that just means that they are breaking down the protein a little bit to make it easier to digest for your baby but an interesting thing to note is recent studies have actually shown that babies who are fed partially hydrolized based formulas do fare better in some significant ways. So it´s just something to consider. There are generic brands that have the partially hydrolized proteins so in terms of cost, it is usually pretty equal to the normal milk based. But if your baby is super sensitive and can´t handle any milk derivatives, your next option is going to be a hypoallergenic formula. These are completely broken down and they are actually dair derived but the protein is so tiny and so predigested that even typically milk allergic babies can tolerate them. If they can´t, there is also amino based, which are prescription formulas for really the most allergic babies. But these are super expensive, available by prescription only, and tend to taste awful so it´s usualy better not to go there unless you have to. The one other option you have is soy. Soy formulas are a bit controversial because there is some concern about giving that much soy to babies, especially boys. The American Academy of Pediatrics right now does suggest that parents only turn to soy formula if a baby can´t tolerate milk and they don´t want to pay the cost of a hypoallergenic formula or if the parents are vegan. But what I would say is if you are concerned about soy, do your own research because a lot of this advice coming from these organizations are being extremely overcautious and most likely if your baby is fed on soy formula, it´s not going to be the end of the world.



Expert Bio

More from Expert

Suzanne Barston, CLC

Blogger & Author of Bottled Up





More Parenting Videos from Suzanne Barston, CLC >
Enter your email to
download & subscribe
to our newsletter