Bottles: Which milk powder for the baby?

Milk food is very suitable

The Research Institute for Child Nutrition in Dortmund (FKE) recommends that infants only be fed milk for the first four months of their lives. breastfeedingis the best way to do this, as the ingredients in breast milk are optimally tailored to the needs of the baby. However, if you are unable or unwilling to breastfeed, there is an incredible range of milk products available to feed your baby. Thanks to intensive research and strict guidelines for baby formula, each of the products contains everything a baby needs for healthy growth in the first months of life. The composition of the various ready-to-eat milk products is prescribed by law. Regulations such as the “Diet Ordinance for Infant Nutrition” also ensure that baby milk is made from natural raw materials and does not contain any harmful substances.

Different types of milk powder

In Europe, a distinction is made between two groups of ready-to-eat milk: infant formula and follow- on milk . In both groups there are, in turn, several products that differ slightly in composition and application.

In the case of infant formula , these are the so-called pre milk and the 1er milk . Both variants of this “initial milk” are made from components of cow’s milk and are strongly based on the composition of breast milk. Initial milk can be fed throughout the first year of life; in the first four to six months exclusively, then as a supplement to complementary food . In the following you can read how Pre milk and 1er milk differ from each other:

• Pre milk:Pre-food is most similar to breast milk in terms of fat, protein and mineral content and thus fully covers the baby’s nutritional needs in the first months of life. Just like breast milk, the only carbohydrate it contains is milk sugar, which is very little sweet and has a digestive effect. In addition, Pre Milk is very liquid and thirst-quenching, which is why it can be fed “on demand”. This means that your baby can drink Pre milk as often and as much as it wants – there is no risk of overfeeding your child. As long as your child’s weight is developing according to plan and they appear full and satisfied after feeding, there is no need to switch from pre milk to a different formula. However, if the drinking quantity increases to more than one liter per day, This could be a sign that your baby isn’t getting enough. In this case, you can think about changing your diet to 1er food.
• 1er milk , just like pre milk, is suitable for feeding from the first day of the baby and throughout the entire bottle period. The difference to pre milk is that part of the lactose is replaced by starch, which is why it is slightly thicker in consistency than pre milk. Since there are two different carbohydrates in 1st food, which are also digested at different times, it therefore fills you up a little longer. Due to the slightly higher calorie content, however, it is important that you stick to the recommended drinking quantities as closely as possible when using it, otherwise you may overfeed your child.

Switch to follow-on milk?

In the area of ​​follow-on milk, a distinction is usually made between 2nd and 3rd milk . Due to their composition, both should ensure an even longer feeling of satiety compared to the pre milk or 1er milk. This satiating effect is to be achieved through various measures:

• There are different types of carbohydrates in follow-on milk. In addition to lactose, there are often glucose, maltodextrin, starch and even granulated sugar. Some products also contain a small amount of cereal flakes. As a result, the consistency of the follow-on milk is creamy and the time the food stays in the stomach is increased, resulting in a longer feeling of satiety.
• Follow-on milk contains significantly more protein than pre or single milk. In addition, the composition of the individual protein components is no longer based on breast milk. Like carbohydrates, proteins are digested more slowly and have a longer-lasting, satiating effect.

From a nutritional point of view, there is actually no need to switch to follow-on milk in the first year of life. 2-series milk is only recommended from the age of five months, 3-series milk even from eight months. Since neither of the two variants can cover the baby’s increased nutritional needs, it must be fed in parallel with complementary food. An excessive saturation effect is then usually no longer necessary, which is why follow-on milk is in principle superfluous and offers no real advantage over the first milk.

On the contrary, the protein content of follow-on milk is unnecessarily high. This can put a lot of strain on your baby’s kidneys. Follow-on milk is also often heavily sweetened and flavored, which can affect your baby’s natural taste development and help you get used to the sweet taste early on.

Special additives in baby milk

Many dairy products want to stand out from the many competing products by advertising that they contain special, health-promoting additives. Here you can find out about the three most common ones:

• Probiotics: Probiotics are living, “good” bacteria, the bifidobacteria, which colonize the intestinal mucosa. The presence of the bifidobacteria in the so-called “intestinal flora” makes it more difficult for pathogenic germs to attack the intestines and this improves immune protection. Probiotic additives can therefore have a positive effect on digestion and bowel movements and result in less diarrhea, less colic and less frequent constipation.
• Prebiotics: Prebiotics are indigestible carbohydrates, or dietary fibers, that are supposed to promote the growth of bifidobacteria in the intestine. They serve the good intestinal germs as a kind of food. The so-called oligosaccharides are also contained in breast milk.

• LC-PUFA: The abbreviation LC-PUFA (Long Chained Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids) refers to long-chain, polyunsaturated fatty acids that are also found in breast milk. LCPs are important building blocks for the development and growth of the nervous system, brain and vision. The fatty acid levels of babies fed formulas containing LCPs are broadly consistent with those of breastfed infants. However, it is still unclear whether the use of such a food also brings long-term benefits.

In addition to the conventional forms of milk food described here, there are some special forms of milk for babies that are used, for example, for children at risk of allergies. You can read more about this in the article ” HA Nutrition and Co.: Special Milk Food for Babies “.

Homemade alternatives

It is better to avoid making milk for your baby yourself. The commercially available milk food products contain all the important nutrients and minerals that your baby needs to develop healthily. Homemade milk, whether made from cow’s, sheep’s or goat’s milk, cannot achieve the balanced nutrient content of ready-made milk. “Vegetarian” alternatives made from rice or almond milk are also not recommended. You can find out more about this topic in our article ” Can I make baby milk myself?” “.

Survey: Which milk formula do 2,000 mothers buy?

In a major MomaSquad survey, we asked 2,000 moms which brands they consider buying formula for their baby. You can see the result here.