Cows' Milk in Complementary Feeding

Abstract

If breastfeeding is continued at a high rate into the second year of life, and if the complementary diet contains reasonable amounts of animal protein from meat, fish, or eggs, most infants will thrive without cows' milk. This is the situation in some traditional societies, where milk is not available or where there is no tradition for feeding cows' milk. However, in most populations in the world there is a strong tradition of using cows' milk as an important part of the complementary diet. This article will discuss different aspects of the use of cows' milk in complementary feeding (Table 1) and will highlight areas where there is a need for further research. The use of infant formula and follow-up formula will not be covered, despite the fact that they are usually based on cows' milk. View this table: Table 1. Positive and Negative Aspects of the Use of Cows' Milk During the Period of Complementary Feeding ### Homemade Infant Formula There is universal agreement that homemade formula based on unmodified cows' milk should not be used as a breast milk substitute, especially during early infancy because the composition differs considerably from breast milk. Homemade formula is used in some populations because of economic constraints or tradition, and is less harmful than unmodified cows' milk. For this reason, the recipe for making a homemade formula is given in the recent Canadian …