2.6 Breast-milk Substitutes
When an infant is not to be breastfed, for whatever reason, the mother should leave your care feeling confident she can care for and feed her baby safely.
Safe preparation of breastmilk substitutes
The infant who is being fed on breastmilk substitutes has increased risks of poor health:
- from acute and chronic diseases and developmental delays for which the breastfed infant is protected
- from infection due to inadequate cleanliness during preparation and storage
- from nutritional compromise, either over- or under-nutrition, as a result of improper preparation
- from severe morbidity, or even mortality, caused bya potentially deadly bacteriafound in the powdered formula
The importance of every mother who is feeding her infant a breastmilk substitute being aware of these risks and receiving instruction on how to reduce them, cannot be underestimated.
Implementation
The World Health Organization states that instruction on preparation, feeding and storage should only be given on an individual basis, ie not in a group situation, and at the time it is needed, ie immediately prior to the mother commencing bottle feeding.
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![]() | ![]() Clinical Skills Competency: Teaching formula preparation and feedingClick on the link to download the Skills Competency. Even if this is not a requirement of you at this time it will provide good 'refresher' training, ensuring you continue to provide the very best care.
Review the study materials and notes you made during your initial breastfeeding education. | ![]() |
Refer to your Policy
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![]() | ![]() Refer to the Policy and note that each of the following is included:
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What should I remember?
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