Alternatives to Infant Formula

Infant formulas, often in dry-powder mixes, have been regulated by the Food and Drug Administration and used in the United States for decades to meet babies' nutritional needs. Still, parents may seek out alternatives to these typically milk-based formulas in order to avoid food allergies, preservatives, high costs, or to provide a different source of nutrition.

Nursing

• The most popular alternative to formula is breastfeeding. On the rise since the 1990s, nursing is now considered the most healthful feeding option for babies because a mother's milk provides the best proportion of nutrients. However, nursing or pumping is not the best option for every mother, whether because of personal choice or health reasons, so other formula alternatives do exist.

Homemade Formulas

• Homemade formulas, although popular before the mid-1970s when prepackaged formula was introduced, are no longer considered safe for young children. These preparations cannot provide adequate nutrition, and--despite good intentions and careful preparation--errors due to a nonsterile environment or incorrect administration are more likely with homemade products than with prepackaged formula mixes. Such errors, even when small, can have large effects on a child's growth and health.

  Research has confirmed that cow's milk lacks essential nutrients such as iron, can irritate the stomach to cause bleeding, and can damage an infant's kidneys with its high protein content. Recent studies also show that giving cow's milk to children age 8 months old or younger can lead to diabetes later in life.

  Goat's milk is an alternative that many parents turn to for children with milk allergies. Goat's milk content is more similar to human milk than to cow's milk, but goat's milk still does not provide adequate nutrition on its own. At times when all other options have failed, though, and under an allergist's and nutritionist's guidance, a goat's milk infant formula may be used to meet an infant's fat and protein needs. However, children with dairy allergies, and not just lactose intolerance, may eventually develop a reaction to goat's milk, which is also a dairy product.

Plant-Based Drinks

• Plant-based milks such as soy, rice or oat are nondairy products used in children 1 year or older who have dairy allergies. The use of these types of drinks in babies younger than 1 year old is not recommended because the drinks don't provide the fat and protein in dairy products and formulas that are essential to infant brain and muscle development.