Review of Infant Feeding: Key Features of Breast Milk and Infant Formula

Overview

Journal Nutrients

Date 2016 May 18

PMID 27187450

Citations 297

Authors

Camilia R Martin

Pei-Ra Ling

George L Blackburn

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Mothers' own milk is the best source of nutrition for nearly all infants. Beyond somatic growth, breast milk as a biologic fluid has a variety of other benefits, including modulation of postnatal intestinal function, immune ontogeny, and brain development. Although breastfeeding is highly recommended, breastfeeding may not always be possible, suitable or solely adequate. Infant formula is an industrially produced substitute for infant consumption. Infant formula attempts to mimic the nutritional composition of breast milk as closely as possible, and is based on cow's milk or soymilk. A number of alternatives to cow's milk-based formula also exist. In this article, we review the nutritional information of breast milk and infant formulas for better understanding of the importance of breastfeeding and the uses of infant formula from birth to 12 months of age when a substitute form of nutrition is required.

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