It is cheaper, more accessible, available in all supermarkets... yes, cow's milk has its advantages BUT all the specialists are formal, it should not be consumed by an infant before the age of 12 months minimum.
Ideally, children should be given growing-up milk until they are 3 years old.
We can't stress this enough, but cow's milk is ideal, yes... for calves, not for infants.
In the second half of an infant's life, most of the nutritional intake is provided by milk, even after the infant has started to diversify.
WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES?
Early replacement of follow-on milk with cow's milk leads to :
- a decrease in the intake of : iron, linoleic acid, vitamins B9, C, D and E;
- a considerable increase in protein.
It is obvious that follow-on milk is more expensive than cow's milk, but a child's health is priceless!
AND GOAT'S MILK? (OR SHEEP, MARE, BUFFALO...)
Although the goat is a smaller animal than the cow, its milk has a composition very similar to that of cow's milk. Therefore it is not more suitable for infants and also not recommended before the age of one year.
AND VEGETABLE JUICES?
NO, vegetable juices are not milk!
These juices (soy, almond, chestnut, hazelnut, rice... for the most common) can in NO WAY replace infant or breast milk. All these drinks are very poor in nutritional elements, and giving them to your baby instead of infant milk could create serious metabolic disturbances, or even serious malnutrition. Recent news reports have shown fatal situations for some babies.
Breastfeeding or infant formula, there are enough choices to give your baby the best...
12 Comments. Write a new one
As far as yoghurts are concerned, should we favour infant yoghurts at the beginning of diversification?
If baby is getting enough milk (500ml) then it may not be necessary to give yoghurt with infant milk. However, if baby doesn't like milk, then yes, yoghurt with infant milk will give him everything he doesn't get with milk.
Hello,
Maybe there is a confusion between pure cow's milk and cow's milk based products (growing-up milk, yoghurts...) on the part of parents (including me)?
Can you confirm: pure cow's milk is not recommended before the age of 3 but cow's milk products can be introduced much earlier. Did I understand correctly?
Have a nice day
Hello,
It is not always easy to understand 😉
Pure cow's milk should not be consumed by an infant before the age of 12 months minimum (if you can wait for 3 years, and give him growing up milk, it's even better because they are enriched in iron and vitamins).
Infant formulas are indeed made from cow's milk, but they have undergone a certain number of transformations, and meet very strict regulations concerning their composition. Their formula is therefore very close to breast milk. They are therefore completely adapted to the nutritional needs of babies.
As for yoghurts, they contain lactic ferments which are much easier to digest than pure cow's milk. This is why you can give them to baby (prefer plain ones without sugar).
I hope that this is clearer for you...
Have a nice day!
Hello
I don't quite understand your article ... what are the good infant formulas then? You list what not to use but still? I give babybio goat milk to my 10 month old daughter. You obviously don't recommend it? I look forward to your reply.
Hello, all infant formulas comply with very strict regulations and therefore have a composition that is totally adapted to babies (like Babybio).
The purpose of the article is to highlight the potential deficiencies linked to the early absorption of cow's milk. I have done an article on infant formula https://mapetiteassiette.com/2018/07/01/allaitement-artificiel-ou-laits-infantiles/
Have a nice day.
There are rice milks especially for babies. My daughter takes it because she seems to be unable to tolerate cow's milk protein.
I'm sure you already know this but I was afraid to give it to her because I had read that rice milk was not nutritious enough 😉
In the event of intolerance to cow's milk proteins, there are rice protein-based milks that are specially designed for this purpose and therefore totally suitable for babies (such as Modilac Riz, Novalac Riz, etc.). So don't worry.
BEWARE, you must not confuse them and replace them with vegetable juices, such as rice juice (wrongly called "rice milk"), which are totally unadvisable because they lack essential nutrients for babies 😉
I don't understand, baby bottle formulas (infant formula) are made from cow's milk though? Don't you recommend them?
Oh yes, of course! Infant formulas are made from cow's milk, but they have undergone a number of transformations and comply with very strict regulations concerning their composition. Their formula is very similar to breast milk. They are therefore completely adapted to the nutritional needs of babies (unlike "pure" cow's milk) 🙂
Okay, thanks for the clarification!
With pleasure 🙂