Doctors say bovine milk has a high protein content called Casein, which is a heavy molecule for the baby to digest and causes an extra pressure on kidneys.<\/p>\n
Early introduction to cow or buffalo milk may lead to several health complications in newborns, say experts who maintain there is no substitute to breastfeeding as mother\u2019s milk is the best source of nutrition for a baby.<\/p>\n
In several households, especially in urban areas, mother\u2019s are unable to breastfeed their child due to various reasons including lack of motivation, ignorance, work pressure and work places being not equipped with facilities, they said.<\/p>\n
In India, a positive trend has been observed in breastfeeding practices over the last decade. According to the National Family Health Survey-IV, 55% of the infants are exclusively breastfed for the first six months.<\/p>\n
According to Dr Bernd Stahl, R&D Director of Human Milk Research at Nutricia Research in Utrecht, the Netherlands, the mother\u2019s milk is an orchestra of benefits having all nutrients that are required by the infant to achieve optimal growth, brain and cognitive development. It also helps fight infections and illnesses like diarrhoea, allergies and asthma, among others.<\/p>\n
\u201cBreastfeeding also has a positive impact on mothers. Women who breastfeed have a reduced risk of ovarian and breast cancers and metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. It also helps in postpartum weight loss,\u201d Dr Stahl said.<\/p>\n
According to Dr Raghuram Mallaiah, director of neonatology at Fortis La Femme, which also runs the not-for- profit Breastmilk Foundation here, cow or buffalo milk for newborns should be avoided.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople generally think that cow or buffalo milk can be a substitute for mother\u2019s milk, which is not true. Bovine milk has a high protein content called Casein which is a much more heavier molecule for the baby to digest, causing an extra pressure on kidneys. Also, once pasteurised, cow milk loses all the micro- nutrients like iron, zinc and iodine,\u201d he said, adding that it should be introduced only after first year.<\/p>\n
AIIMS head of paediatrics Dr V K Paul said some families wrongly believe that mother\u2019s milk alone is not enough to provide required nutrition to the newborn and choose to supplement it with bovine milk.<\/p>\n
\u201cMother\u2019s milk is such a fortified diet that it is enough to provide required nutrition for a baby. The infant intestine is not properly equipped to digest non-human milk, and this may result in diarrhoea, allergies, intestinal bleeding, malnutrition and obesity among babies,\u201d Paul said.<\/p>\n
Cow\u2019s milk allergy is the most common food allergy in young children, Dr Nandan Joshi, head of nutrition science and medical affairs at Danone India said.<\/p>\n
The food allergy usually establishes in the first six months of life and a majority of the affected-children have one or more symptoms involving one or more organ systems, mainly the gastrointestinal tract and\/or skin.<\/p>\n
He said cow\u2019s milk allergy is generally outgrown during early childhood. Children at risk of not resolving the problem are those who have multiple food allergies, or concomitant asthma and allergic rhinitis. \u201cAvoidance of cow\u2019s milk protein in any form is the only available treatment,\u201d Joshi said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, as the government is making all efforts to encourage breastfeeding among mothers, infant formulas available in market claim to be an alternative to breast milk. Although cow\u2019s milk is the basis of almost all infant formula, to reduce the negative effect on the infant\u2019s digestive system it undergoes processing to be made into an infant formula, Dr Bernd said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis includes steps to make protein more easily digestible and alter the whey-to-casein protein balance to one closer to human milk, the addition of several essential ingredients like vitamins, minerals, nucleotides and the partial or total replacement of dairy fat with fats of vegetable or marine origin,\u201d Dr Bernd said.<\/p>\n
According to WHO recommendations, infants should be exclusively breast fed for the first six months, followed by introduction of complementary feeding at six months along with continued breast feeding up to two years or longer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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