Why is it bad to mix breast milk and formula in the same bottle?

Question

I was told not to mix the two in the same bottle. Does anyone know why it's bad to do so?

Answer 1

I have been mixing the formula and breast milk together in the same bottle for three months and my baby is doing just fine. Plus the hospital my baby was in mixed the formula and breast milk. Just recently, I was told by the nurse in the clinic that it is bad because if you mix the formula and breast milk the body doesn't absorb the nutrients correctly. Many people are going to have a different perspective of what is right so if you are not sure if you are doing the right thing, I would contact your pediatrician.

Answer 2

The doctors on BabyCenter.com explain why this isn't the best idea, although there is no medical reason why you cannot do it. Their reasoning is that you don't want to waste single drop of breast milk, and if the baby doesn't finish the bottle, then you risk wasting some breast milk.

This is a little more work, but I made up two bottles -- one with my breast milk and one with a few ounces of formula. After my baby finished the breast milk bottle, I would quickly switch to the formula one. That way, he wasn't hungry, and he got every drop!

Answer 3

I think it's because if there is any left over in the bottle, you'll have to throw it all away. For example, maybe the breast milk was extracted yesterday and you want to use it up. You just made the formula. Since they're mixed, you won't be able to save the leftover formula/breast milk mixture and use it later.
When my son was little, I mixed breast milk and formula. But, I didn't keep what was left over.

Answer 4

That's silly that someone told you that. It's perfectly safe to mix breast milk and formula together. When I was breast feeding I was having a hard time keeping up with my daughter's needs so I was specifically told at the hospital to mix my breast milk with a few ounces of formula so she would get all she needs. Babies naturally prefer the sweet taste of breast milk so there is little risk of baby rejecting breast milk after having formula. Good luck :)

Answer 5

my little guy is a week old and I mix the breast milk and formula. He doesn't wake up enough to feed, and he sleeps when i do try to nurse him, so I've started pumping to try to increase the milk flow to keep up to him when he does wake. I mix the milk that I've pumped with an ounce of formula. When he wakes I nurse him for about an hour, and he's still hungry so i give him the bottle of Breast milk/formula. ACTUALLY....in the hospital the nurses gave me a tiny hose contraption to tape to my breast so that when the baby latched on to my nipple, the formula would be sucked out of the bottle along with the breast milk to encourage him to suck.

Answer 6

The main reason not to mix the two is that there are different nutrients in breastmilk. You work so hard to get your breastmilk I wouldn't want to mix the two. I would give your baby the breastmilk and if your baby is still hungry make a small bottle of formula to give to them. like only 1-2 ozs. Too much would waste the formula. Good luck.

Answer 7

It is not bad. I breast fed and had to supplement with formula in the beginning after every feeding. It was mixed in the baby's stomach so it doesn't make any difference if it's mixed in the bottle.

Answer 8

It's not bad - go ahead and mix. It's actually a good way to introduce baby to formula if you're easing off breast feeding.

Answer 9

My doctor told me it was because a baby's body digest the two differnetly. Because breast milk is easier to digest than formula. It's better to give them breast milk at one feeding and formula at another.

Answer 10

I always thought you could mix them, it is usually one of the directions on the side of the formula can.