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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Parents may be unnecessarily switching infant milk formulas. A study found many parents misinterpret normal baby behaviors as milk intolerance and needlessly switch formulas without consulting a health professional.
The team of researchers, led by Dr. Carol Lynn Berseth of Mead Johnson Nutrition, in Indiana, found up to half of formula-fed infants experience a formula change during the first six months of life.
The randomized study, carried out in 335 healthy infants, tested the hypothesis that there is no advantage to choosing a partially hydrolyzed protein formula as a first choice for most healthy infants. The study demonstrated no difference in infant tolerance of two cow milk formulas -- intact vs. partially hydrolyzed cow milk protein -- over a 60-day feeding trial.
The study confirms previous reports of unnecessary formula changes in healthy infants. While regurgitation, crying, fussiness, and colic can be signs of intolerance, such episodes are also normal during early infancy. Anxious parents may mistake these normal episodes as formula intolerance.
Dr. Berseth speculated that a partially hydrolyzed protein formula might be appropriate for a targeted group of infants rather than as a first-choice formula. She is quoted as saying, "In a healthy population, this study demonstrated no added benefit of a partially hydrolyzed cow milk formula over a standard intact cow milk protein formula."
SOURCE: BioMed Central's open access Nutrition Journal, June 20, 2009
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