Mixed feeding of the infant is a combination of breast milk and adaptive milk formulas in his diet. At the same time, the volume of breast milk should be at least 1/5 of the daily volume.
When is the mixed food used?
When a woman for a long time, using various ways to increase lactation (taking medications, diet, herbal preparations, etc.) can not increase the volume of breast milk produced per day, the question arises about the need to use artificial milk formulas. A child should never be underfed.
Doctors also recommend introducing supplementation, if the child adds to weight less than 500 g per month. The number of urination does not exceed 6 times a day.
What to feed?
For mixed feeding, adaptive milk formula is used as a supplement. They are the most similar in composition to natural breast milk. With the definition of the volume of the necessary supplementary feeding, things are more complicated. Previously, for this purpose, the so-called control weighing was carried out, which consisted in fixing the weight before and after feeding. Today, such a method is considered inexpedient and practically not applied.
The method of the so-called positive dynamics of the child's weight is considered more informative. According to him, the main criteria should be clinical, data such as:
- the regularity in increasing the mass and length of the body;
- frequency of acts of defecation and urination;
- the development of neuro-motor functions corresponding to age.
Mixed feeding of a child is a forced measure. Therefore, the doctor should determine the time, volume, as well as the technology of introducing an adaptive mixture for infant feeding as accurately as possible. In some cases, the mixed feeding of a newborn can be temporary. So, with proper measures to increase lactation, the need for supplementation may disappear.
Supplementary feeding technology
A woman simply has to continue breastfeeding the baby as long as possible. If the breast milk is not enough, supplementation should be given only in a certain amount, not allowing overfeeding. In this case, it is better to give the supplementary supplement from a cup or spoon and not more often than once a day, so that the baby suckles the breast as much as possible and more often, thereby stimulating lactation. It is known that frequent application to the breast stimulates the production of milk.