AN EVALUATION OF FORMULA TOLERANCE AFTER HUMAN MILK FEEDING. 1814

Abstract

A study was conducted to determine the influence of formula on tolerance during the weaning from exclusive human milk to exclusive formula feeding. Tolerance was characterized by the incidence of spit-up or vomit and stool characteristics. Eighty-two exclusively HM fed infants were randomized to an experimental infant formula (EF) or a commercially available whey predominant formula (CP) at the onset of weaning. EF was whey fortified (48:52 whey:casein) with a fat blend of 42% high oleic safflower (HO), 30% coconut(CO), 28% soy (SO) oils. CP is whey dominant (60:40) with fat blend of 45% palm olein (PO), 20% SO, 20% CO, and 15% HO oils. Tolerance was monitored daily during exclusive human milk feeding, while weaning to formula and when the infants were completely weaned to formula. The transition from HM to formula primarily affected stool characteristics: fewer and firmer stools, more odor with stools, fewer yellow and greener stools. Infants weaned onto CP had significantly firmer and fewer stools/day than those fed EF, both during weaning and when weaning was completed. HM=exclusively human milk feeding, W=weaning, F=exclusive formula feeding periods Infants weaned from human milk to CP underwent greater changes in stool characteristics than infants weaned to EF. The differences in stool consistency may be related to the soap formation resulting from the ingestion of palm olein which is known to cause harder stools. EF is tolerated more like human milk than the whey predominant study formula. Table