Infant Nutrition Council

Mothers’ Experience of Bottle Feeding

admin — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 23:39:21 +0000

The emphasis in health policy on breastfeeding promotion seems to escalate steadily,and yet in many countries the consequences are disappointing. In Australia and New Zealand mothers have one of the highest initiation rates of breastfeeding but more work needs to be centred on extending the duration.

Even mild iodine deficiency causes intellectual impairment in children

admin — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 23:37:34 +0000

Several recent studies have shown that New Zealanders again have as high a prevalence of low iodine status as prior to the 1950swith many of all ages across the population being below WHO minimum levels. Since there has been no obvious recurrence of goitre or functional consequences, one might wonder whether the finding is of real significance, although it has been taken sufficiently seriously that as of the end of September 2009 iodine is added to almost all bread.

Bisphenol A (BPA)

admin — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 01:42:33 +0000

The Infant Nutrition Council (INC) is aware of the latest report from the USA Food and Drug Administration (FDA), released on the 15th January 2010, suggesting that recent studies provide reason for some concern about the potential effects of Bisphenol A (BPA) on the brain, behaviour and prostate gland of fetuses, infants and children.

INC supports the FDA recommendation to continue to use infant formula “as the benefit of a stable source of good nutrition outweighs the potential risk from BPA exposure”.

INC and its member companies have been and will continue to work with FSANZ to understand the effects of BPA. INC and FSANZ are currently reviewing the latest developments from the United States so that industry is able to respond to this issue in an appropriate manner.

It should also be noted that the FDA “recognizes substantial uncertainties with respect to the overall interpretation of these studies and their potential implications for human health effects of BPA exposure”. Other studies indicate that if there is any risk, it is extremely minimal.

For more information about BPA see Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ).

Australian National Breastfeeding Strategy 2010-2015

admin — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:39:09 +0000

The Infant Nutrition Council today offered its support for the Federal Government’s Australian National Breastfeeding Strategy 2010-2015.

The Council’s CEO Jan Carey agreed that breastmilk provided the best nutrition for infants.

“The Infant Nutrition Council recognises that breastmilk is the normal way to feed a baby and is important for baby’s health”, Ms Carey said. “We commend the Strategy’s coordinated and evidenced based approach to increasing breastfeeding rates in Australia.”

The Strategy, which was endorsed by State and Territory Health Ministers on Friday, provides a framework for priorities and action for all governments to address the protection, promotion, support and monitoring of breastfeeding throughout Australia.

But while Ms Carey welcomed the far-reaching Strategy, she said the Government failed to provide important nutritional information on breastmilk substitutes to mothers who can’t or choose not to breastfeed.

“When a baby is not being breastfed a lack of important nutritional information for the mother could result in poor or unsafe food choices for the baby – such as inappropriate breastmilk substitutes,” she said.

“We believe that the promotion of breastfeeding and the provision of information about infant formula need not be mutually exclusive.”

The Infant Nutrition Council supports both breastfeeding and infant formula and represents the major companies manufacturing, importing and marketing their own brands of infant formulas in Australia.

For more information on the Government’s Breastfeeding Strategy see Australian National Breastfeeding Strategy 2010-2015

Do we need to rethink the protein level of infant formula?

admin — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:38:43 +0000

The protein level of ready to feed infant formula is significantly higher than that of human milk. This was a deliberate choice because firstly cow milk protein was considered not to be as well digested as human milk protein, and also the aminoacid composition which can be achieved with a mix of cow milk proteins [currently 60% whey and 40% casein] does not accurately match that of human milk proteins in terms of the blood levels of individual aminoacids produced in the infant. Indeed small amounts of some single aminoacids may be added to formula to try to correct this.

What is normal postnatal weight loss in breastfed infants?

admin — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 00:57:15 +0000

While “everyone knows” that babies usually lose some weight in the early days of life, the amount of loss and its timing are surprisingly not well documented. This is especially surprising since “failure to gain” is an indication for investigation both of feeding adequacy and for some abnormality of health.

Breastfeeding and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

admin — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 01:02:07 +0000

The view that Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is a preventable condition has been reinforced by the positive results of numerous campaigns in several countries. Sometimes advice about the relevance of breastfeeding is given, sometimes it isn’t.

Postpartum depression and infant feeding

admin — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 01:04:35 +0000

One might expect that there would be a relationship between postpartum depression, a condition more common than usually recognised, and the success of infant feeding, but surprisingly little has been written about it.

Is the outlook brighter for peanut allergy?

admin — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 00:59:45 +0000

Of all the afflictions of young children, one of the worst has to be food allergies. Some families have a genetic predisposition to allergies of a variety of kinds, the commonest in infants and toddlers being to milk proteins, and gluten (celiac disease), but a large number of foods can be potentially allergenic.

Multivitamins in pregnancy

admin — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 01:01:01 +0000

Although the routine supplementation of pregnant women with folate and iron is widely practiced, the possible role of supplementation with other micronutrients is not known.