The best baby formula is mother’s milk

CALL it a mother’s intuition if you like, but we should not throw the baby out with the bathwater after reading about Prof Sven Carlsen’s recently-published research which shockingly claims baby formula is as good as breastmilk for a child’s health.

Even if there was some truth in his findings regarding the risks of asthma and allergies in children, what of the longer term health risks associated with not being breast fed?

Lack of breast feeding is known to increase the risk of cancer. Inflammatory bowel disease and Crohn’s disease are more frequent for those who have been formula-fed. Early introduction of infant formula, solids and cow’s milk are factors shown to increase the incidence of type 1 diabetes later in life.