Can I feed a 6m baby milk expressed at 6 wks of age?
by Gi (USA)
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I am currently breastfeeding my 11 week old baby. I started to freeze my excess milk because I want to give that to him when we are done breastfeeding. I think we will be able to nurse to 6 months or so. My concern is that the nutritional content of breast milk changes with the age of the baby. When he is 6 months and older, is it okay to give him milk I pumped earlier? Is it still healthier than formula?
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Responses:
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Not a Problem. Breast milk is better. by: Marie Davis The long and short of the question - is it better than formula? The answer is an obvious "yes!" My experience with this however is that because the earlier milk is richer the babies often get diarrhea, more so if it is closer to colostrum. Some moms keep colostrum to feed a child when s/he gets sick. In general however I would say that the differences in composition are not so extreme: feeding breast milk within 3 months of the time it was pumped will not be a problem. I don't think I have any references in this regard except Human Milk Banking guidelines. Hope this answers the question. Marie Davis, lactation consultant |
