I switched from breastfeeding to soy formula because my baby had painful gas, is this a safe choice?

Question

I was in between doctors so I was unable to ask my doctor about this situation. After reading up on the internet I am worried about effects of soy formula and if I am doing the right thing. It has helped him so far-before he had such painful gas, he would scream while nursing. My mother said maybe he wasn't getting enough milk but when I pumped my milk, I had plenty.

Answer 1

There are some controversies about giving babies soy-based formulas. Generally doctors don't suggest it unless there is evidence of a cow's milk sensitivity. With your baby, my best guess would be that you were eating something that your baby was sensitive to. Sometimes it is milk-based products in your own diet that cause a breast feeding baby to have a tummy problem. You may want to try breast feeding again. Nurse him frequently to restart your milk production and wean him off the soy formula back to breast milk. How old is your baby?

Answer 2

Formula in general isn't safe (according to the WHO). Soy is an allergen, too, and many babies who are truly allergic to dairy are also allergic to soy (according to Dr Sears). This just happened to one of my friends. She was told to stop breastfeeding and put baby on formula (always bad advice). It turned out to be an electrolyte imbalance, and breastfeeding would have eventually cured it. My point is, her baby's problem wasn't related to her milk, even though she thought it was and her misinformed doctors thought it was. Pumping is no indication of how much milk you have, and babies who are fed on demand always have enough milk. Your baby may have a dairy sensitivity or a sensitivity to something else in your diet. It's hard to tell, but eliminating dairy and gassy vegetables from your diet is a good way to start doing your detective work. I assume you tried Mylicon drops? They work by lowering surface tension and allowing gas to escape as a burp. Your baby may also have reflux. I know that you're having a hard time now. You know that your milk is best for your baby, but if you're happy with the current arrangement, then you're happy. Soy formula will keep him alive until he can move on to food.

Edit: I just remembered! Screaming at the breast sounds like a nursing strike. How old is baby and how long has this been going on? Strikes are very common at four months and ten months. Many mothers mistake this for early weaning. Usually striking babies will still nurse while sleeping or very sleepy. Try latching your baby on while he's sleeping and see if that helps.

Answer 3

It depends on what you mean by "safe".

If by safe, you mean "healthy", then no. Breastmilk is healthier than formula, and if your baby was having painful gas from breastmilk, it was probably just something you ate -- or something you eat on a regular basis (if this was a regular thing). I would have recommended contacting La Leche League for some free, educated advice about your baby's screaming while nursing. For a while, my son would scream around the same time every day while nursing. I got so frustrated, I finally just stopped trying to force feed him and let him be. He outgrew whatever it was and stayed perfectly healthy. He is still nursing (with plenty of solids) at 16 months of age.

Switching to formula takes away the immunities that your baby was receiving from your breastmilk, making him more susceptible to illness now and in the future, even into his adult life. Formula has additives like MSG, silicon, and aluminum. Personally I wouldn't feel comfortable giving that to my baby. Soy in particular has some risks associated with it (see link below).

However, IF you are still interested, it may not be not too late to put him back to the breast, even if your milk has since dried up. Lots of women relactate, and depending on how long it has been and your baby's age, it might be a fairly reasonable option for you. I put several links below for you.

Answer 4

Soy formula is a safe alternative. I have to be honest though, breastmilk is usually the best on baby's stomach unless it is something that you are eating causing the gas. I resorted to soy formula for a couple of reasons. I was supplementing because I wasn't producing enough milk. My daughter also had very bad gas pains before and after supplementing so I cut out milk and cheese then broccoli and leafy vegetables. I noticed that I wasn't eating very much because it was stressing me out so I stopped breastfeeding. But I know lots of moms who successfully isolated dairy or found particular foods that made the gas worse and thier baby did much better. You might want to try to supplement and remove dairy for a short while and see if it works. Certainly, breastfeeding is not the only option out there though. Your baby will be just fine if you choose formula, milk based or soy.

Answer 5

If he was screaming while nursing that doesn't sound like gas at all. In fact that sounds much more like overactive let down, that you had TOO MUCH MILK. Which is a silly thing to quit breastfeeding over, there are many ways to help that problem. Or reflux which wouldn't have been helped by switching to formula.

Read this, so that you can know the facts to help other moms, and yourself if you choose to relactate or have more children:
My baby fusses or cries during nursing - what's the problem?
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/baby/fussy-while-nursing.html

If you are interested in relactating:
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/relactation.html
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/adopt/index.html

This is a decent article about soy formula, from Dr Sears:
http://askdrsears.com/html/0/T000100.asp#T031004

These are some other articles from generally respectable sources:
http://www.life.ca/nl/68/formula.html (ok not the best source but it mainly focuses on a report from the Canadian minister of health - I live in Canada)
http://www.canadianliving.com/CanadianLiving/client/en/Health/DetailNews.asp?idNews=231159&idSM=318



This one is a little radical:
http://www.westonaprice.org/soy/infant.html

Answer 6

From everything I've read on BFing (and believe me, I've read a lot!!) a baby can't be allergic to human milk. If he is having gas it may be from something that you are eating. I've had to change my diet a little since having my baby. He had a lot of gas when he was a newborn but once I figured out what *I* was eating and took that out of my diet he has been doing great.

Soy can be a great alternative for some babies, and others it doesn't work so great. You really just have to see how your baby responds to it.

If you don't want to stop BFing, then don't feel like you have to. There are a lot of resources to help you. You can look online at kellymom, you can go to La Leche League or find a Lactiona Consultant to help you.

Good luck! :)

Answer 7

I do not think you should have switched. Painful gas is not a reason to give up breastfeeding. Maybe you just needed to avoid eating certain things. Babies are not allergic to their mother's milk.

You definitely need to talk with a lactation consultant because doctors don't even give you the best advice on breastfeeding. Look up La Leche League in your area and seek help right away.

I really think you should go back to breastfeeding, but seek help too!

Answer 8

Go back to breastfeeding. Soy is very controversial... and personally, i wouldn't want to expose my child to something that could possibly do him harm.

But then, that goes for all formula... hence, my first statement.

I had to cut out dairy for my son and it was hard at first... took a little bit of time to adjust and it took me about 6 months to get back to a healthy weight (i was down to almost 100lbs on a 5'5 frame!) But i am definatly glad i stuck with it! My son still can't tollerate dairy (or goats milk!) and hes 16 months... i refuse to give him soymilk and so i am thankful to have nutritious milk for him.

How long did you nurse for? How long ago did you stop? You can probably regain a full supply... Will your baby still latch on?

Answer 9

Gas and fussiness may also be caused by breastfeeding baby being intolerant of dairy in the mother's diet. My son had the same problem, and our pediatrician recommended for me to stop eating all dairy (it's in almost everything). Baby was much better after just two days. Nursing sometimes gets their digestive systems going, which may be why he was upset while nursing.

Answer 10

Breadmilk is way better than soy for a baby. If he screamed while nursing it wasn't gas, it was likely not getting enough. There's also a possibility he wasn't latching on correctly. See if you can find a lactate consultant to help you.
You could also supplement with formula.