Dr. Komarovsky on mixed feeding

Better breast of milk nothing is invented for the child. However, it is not always possible to feed the baby at 100% with this, nature approved, product. Sometimes mom's milk is not enough, and then there is a need for mixed feeding. Thus, the baby receives both breast milk and something else so as not to stay hungry. Does it not harm the baby such food and how to organize it correctly, says a well-known children's doctor Evgeny Komarovsky.

Insufficient lactation in the mother can be observed for completely different reasons - from hormonal disruption to the neuropsychological state. This, the second reason, is usually the leading one. Mom does not have enough milk, she begins to blame herself for not being able to give the child the nutrition necessary for his health and development, and thus the vicious circle closes. The woman is in constant stress, which, in turn, adversely affects the mechanisms of lactation.

Of course, breast milk is very important for an infant, but a normal, healthy and smiling mother is no less important for him, says Yevgeny Komarovsky. And therefore, if milk is barely collected from one feeding out of five, then there is no particular reason to keep mixed feeding, you can go to artificial. After all, if the total amount of breast milk in the diet of the crumbs does not exceed one-fifth, then it has almost no effect on health, and we can safely refuse it.

If a mother stops being morally executed for lack of milk, and begins to calmly pump or breastfeed at least once a day, and feed the rest of the feeds with mixtures, then you can leave it as it is (if it suits all parties - the child, and mother, and dad).

Mixed feeding is optimal in the event that the proportion of mother's milk exceeds the volume of one feeding. For example, if half of the daily diet or a little less than that is breast milk. The amount of natural food in the amount of 30% of the daily diet can be considered quite acceptable.

Until recently it was believed, and still some medical reference books indicate that a mixture of breast milk with another product when mixed feeding is harmful to the baby. Some doctors even treat it as an “environmental catastrophe for a child’s body.” Yevgeny Komarovsky is in a hurry to reassure moms who lack their own milk. The modern industry, which produces mixtures and baby food, he says, did everything to minimize this harm. And she succeeded.

Thus, the composition of the majority of currently available milk formulas (we are talking about adapted mixtures) is as close as possible to the composition of breast milk.

Mixed feeding, despite its name, should not be chaotic. He also needs to be able to organize correctly.

There are two main types of mixed feeding: alternate and sequential.

With one feeding in turn, the mother will make it completely natural, and another or several subsequent ones - artificial.With successive feeding, the child can suckle until the milk is finished, after which, with visible signs of anxiety (if the baby is crying, reaching for the breast, smacking and requiring the continuation of the “banquet”), he is given a certain amount of mixture so that he does not feel hunger. It is important not to overfeed the baby.

To know exactly what amount of the mixture he needs to supplement, it is advisable to weigh the baby before and after feeding.

Mom can choose one or another type independently. Here a lot depends on the amount of milk - whether it is enough for a whole feeding, and from other circumstances, for example, how often a woman can decant. It is no secret that mixed feeding is often chosen when the mother needs to go to work, and she is absent during the day. The most optimal is feeding through once - at 6 in the morning with the mixture, at 9 in the morning - with the breast, at 12.00 - with the mixture and so on.

Milk formula feeds the child faster and digests a little longer, and therefore when mixed feeding you should not take long breaks between meals. The interval of 3-4 hours is enough. Even if earlier you were breastfeeding on demand or every 2-2.5 hours, then when switching to a mixed diet, feed properly with longer intervals and according to regimen.

If the circumstances are such that the child has to switch to mixed feeding, then you should follow certain rules that will help the crumbs stay healthy.

• For babies up to 6 months should be selected fully adapted mixture. They are marked with the number "1" on the package.
• For tots from 6 to 12 months there are special mixtures - partially adapted. They are marked on the box with the number "2".
• Children of the year Suitable mixture with the number "3" on the package.

Crumbs should also make efforts to get their own food. Choose the nipples with the smallest holes.

Do not change the mixture to another spontaneously, without the advice of the attending physician and without valid reasons for such a replacement (allergic reaction to the mixture, poor absorption, etc.).

Be sure to give the child who is on a mixed diet, drink water. In the first days after the start of feeding, watch the chair. It can become more rare, and also change color and smell. There is nothing wrong with that.

If the mother plans to return to breastfeeding, the baby should be applied to the breast as often as possible, while using both mammary glands.

Learn more about when to supplement breastfeeding in the opinion of Dr. Komarovsky, you will learn from the following video.