What is it about?

In this commentary, we highlight the need for hospitals to embrace the 10 steps of the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative developed by UNICEF and the WHO for successful breastfeeding. We present a paucity of studies that have focused on the effects of introducing formula to breastfed infants on the gut microbiome, gut health, growth, and body composition.

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Why is it important?

We make the case for the need to conduct well-designed studies on mixed-feeding before we can truly answer the question: how does brief or long-term use of formula influence the health benefits of exclusive breastfeeding?

Perspectives

Breastfeeding a bottle feeding? Breast milk or formula? New or prospective parents wrestle with these questions. In this article you will gain information that will help you in your decion-making along this journey of infant feeding.

Marie-Celine Farver
Sutter Health

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This page is a summary of: Article Commentary: The Influence of Early Infant-Feeding Practices on the Intestinal Microbiome and Body Composition in Infants, Nutrition and Metabolic Insights, January 2015, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.4137/nmi.s29530.
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