If you are worried about your milk supply talk to a lactation consultant, public health nurse or your health care provider. Sometimes babies need more calories, so you will need to give your baby a supplement. This can be done with expressed breastmilk/chestmilk by hand or with a pump.
If you are thinking of giving formula to your breastfed/chestfed baby it can further decrease your breastmilk/chest milk supply and could cause you to stop breastfeeding/chestfeeding before you planned.
It is recommended to breastfeed/chestfeed your baby first, then if extra calories are still needed, to give a top up. If you are supplementing your baby (topping up), it is recommended to try this order of supplementation:
- Your own fresh expressed breastmilk/chestmilk.
- Your own expressed breastmilk/chestmilk that was frozen and has been thawed.
- Baby formula that is cow’s milk based, and iron fortified.
- If you are planning to exclusively breastfeed/chestfeed and you only want to supplement with formula once in a while (not every day), talk to your care provider about types of baby formula that can reduce the risk of cow’s milk allergy.
Note: Specialized formula should only be used if your health-care provider has recommended it.
Ways to Feed Your Baby a Supplement
Use an open cup
Note: Other videos may be recommended by the host channel (e.g. YouTube, Vimeo). These suggestions may be based on your personal search history and other factors. The Manitoba Government does not control these suggestions and is not responsible for and may not endorse the content.
Finger feed your baby
Note: Other videos may be recommended by the host channel (e.g. YouTube, Vimeo). These suggestions may be based on your personal search history and other factors. The Manitoba Government does not control these suggestions and is not responsible for and may not endorse the content.
Use a lactation aid which uses a tube at your breast/chest (also known as supplemental nursing system-SNS). Breastmilk/chestmilk or formula flows from a bottle through a tube that is attached to your nipple so baby can continue to breastfeed/chestfeed. The baby gets the extra calories they need and the parent’s nipples get stimulated which promotes milk production.
Formula feeding baby skin-to-skin. For information on skin-to-skin, see Amazing Benefits of Skin-to-Skin
Note: Other videos may be recommended by the host channel (e.g. YouTube, Vimeo). These suggestions may be based on your personal search history and other factors. The Manitoba Government does not control these suggestions and is not responsible for and may not endorse the content.
Important information for keeping equipment clean:
- How to sterilize your breast/chest pumping equipment
- Is your tap water safe for making infant formula
- How to sterilize your formula feeding equipment
Reference:
Infant Formula: What you need to know- A Best Start Ontario Resource
