Access Keys Skip to Menu Skip to Content Skip to Footer

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.

The WHO Code on the Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes prevents manufacturers from targetting and marketing to mothers directly. By receiving all their education from knowledgeable health professionals, who have the best interests of mother and baby at heart, the decisions made will be based on what is best for each mother/baby couplet.

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.

Clinical Skills Competency: Teaching formula preparation and feeding

Click 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

Refer to the Policy and note that each of the following is included:
  • prohibits group instruction of infant formula preparation
  • outlines when artificially-feeding mothers are to receive instruction on formula preparation
  • outlines the procedure for safely preparing infant formula they are to be taught

What should I remember?

  • which mothers are to receive instruction on safe preparation of infant formula
  • when and how that instruction is to be given