Written By: Debjani Arora | Updated : June 7, 2016 1:56 PM IST
Read this article in HINDI.
In India, many people believe that feeding cow s milk to infants is a better option than breast milk or even formula. Even with the level of awareness we have about breastfeeding, there are a lot of misconception regarding feeding infants. However, even if you think that cow s milk has lots of protein and calcium that can make your baby strong and healthy, it is still advisable to keep it away from babies till at least one year of age. Here are few reasons for the same:
1. According to Sonali Shivlani, an Internationally Certified Pregnancy, Lactation and Child Nutrition Counsellor and our panel expert, cow s milk contain a lot of enzymes that might not be compatible with the baby s immature digestive system and can lead to indigestion.
2. It is possible that little babies are lactose intolerant (as their system are still developing) and the lactose present in the cow s milk can interfere with their digestion and result in colic.
3. Cow s milk is low in iron content and depending on this milk as the prime source of food can lead to iron-deficiency anaemia [1].
4. Cow s milk is also rich in protein which could lead to obesity in future and all the complications related to it [1].
5. Regular intake of cow s milk can lead to occult intestinal blood loss during infancy which can further lead to iron loss. However, the blood loss diminishes with age and ceases after the age of one [1].
6. The high amount of calcium and casein present in cow s milk further inhibits iron absorption making a baby prone to anaemia [1].
7. Since cow s milk is not compatible with your little one s stomach it also creates a lot of load on the kidneys to flush out toxins. In fact, the urine concentration of infants who have cow s milk is higher than those who are breastfed. This makes a child on cow s milk more dehydrated while suffering from lose motions or diarrhoea [1].
8. In some infants cow s milk allergy is also thought to bring in disturbed sleep and sleeplessness. Although, the study was done on a small set of infants but it showed that taking off cow s milk from their diet helped them to sleep better [2].
9. Cow s milk can also be a cause of colic in infants as it isn t easily digestible and can cause symptoms like bloating and abdominal pains.
10. Drinking cow s milk during early infancy can also make one develop an allergy towards the same in future.
Important tip: We aren t telling you to banish cow s milk from your baby s diet. However, keep it away from the first year of her life. Once your baby s system matures enough you can start giving your child cow s milk. Most experts suggest waiting till two years of age before you start cow s milk. Do keep in mind that once you start giving your kid cow s milk load her diet with rich sources of iron too, as cow s milk is low in iron content.
References
1: Ziegler EE. Consumption of cow's milk as a cause of iron deficiency in infants and toddlers. Nutr Rev. 2011 Nov;69 Suppl 1:S37-42. doi: 10.1111/j.1753-4887.2011.00431.x. PubMed PMID: 22043881.
1: Kahn A, Mozin MJ, Casimir G, Montauk L, Blum D. Insomnia and cow's milkallergy in infants. Pediatrics. 1985 Dec;76(6):880-4. PubMed PMID: 4069856.
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