Laying to Rest a Breast-Feeding Myth

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A recent study (VJ Flaherman et al. J Pediatr 2018; 196: 84-90) examines whether early limited formula feeding undermines breastfeeding.

Background: The authors note that women have been discouraged from using formulas for newborns during the birth hospitalization due to concerns that this will diminish the frequency/success of breastfeeding.

Besides the concern that supplemental formula could increase the risk of breastfeeding cessation, some have expressed concern that supplemental formula could undermine benefits of breastmilk on the intestinal microbiome.  In addition, some have worried that if mothers perceived formula-feeding to be easier, that this could lower satisfaction with breastfeeding.

Yet, on the other side of the ledger, there are “about 80,000 newborns who require readmission after discharge” with the majority related to dehydration and hyperbilirubinemia.  Both of these conditions could be ameliorated by formula supplementation.  Thus, to address whether supplemental formula may be of benefit, the authors devised an “early limited formula” (ELF) trial.  The authors only enrolled infants >2500 gm and who had a weight loss >75th percentile on The Newborn Weight Tool (www.newbornweight.org). The authors excluded those with >10% of their birth weight due to routine practice of supplementation.

Methods: 163 mother-infant pairs were randomly assigned to either ELF along with breastfeeding or breastfeeding exclusively.  ELF involved giving infants 10 mL of a hydrolysate formula with a feeding syringe after each breastfeeding until the onset of copious breast milk

Key findings:

  • Mothers using ELF averaged 5.4 times/day for a median of 2 days.
  • Breastfeeding rates at one month of age: 86.5% of ELF group and 89.7% of controls; 54.6% of ELF and 65.8% of controls were breastfeeding exclusively at 1 month of age.
  • Readmission occurred in 4 (4.8%) of control infants and none of the infants in the ELF cohort (P=.06)
  • Using a subset of 15 (8 with ELF), the authors did not identify significant changes in microbiome of ELF group compared with the exclusively fed group when examined at 1 week and 1 month (as well as baseline)

Limitations of this study include the relatively small number of participants.  Furthermore, some populations that are at increased risk for breastfeeding cessation, namely mothers <25 years and African-American mothers were underrepresented.

My take: This study indicates that ELF is safe and does not appear to significantly increase breastfeeding cessation.

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  1. Pingback: Briefly Noted: Breastfeeding and Microbiome Diversity | gutsandgrowth

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