17/09/2023
History of formula milk
(Info from website)
Many infants who were unable to breastfeed from their mothers were wet-nursed, fed by other family members.
The use of other animal's milk mixed with grains for feeding human babies has been noted throughout history, but those babies who had no access to human milk were unlikely to make their first birthday
The first commercial infant formula was produced in 1867 by a German chemist consisting of wheat flour, cowsā milk, malt flour and potassium bicarbonate. It was sold as Liebig's Perrfect Infant Food. They then devised a powdered version. The commercial success meant other companies also invented their own
During the 19th and 20thC, scientists began to analyse human milk. In 1919, milk fats were replaced with a blend of animal and vegetable fats as part of the continued drive to simulate human milk more closely. This formula was only made available to mothers by doctors.
In 1941, National Dried Milk was introduced in the UK. This was a dried, full-fat, unmodified cowsā milk powder fortified with vitamin D. The milk was introduced by the Government as part of the Welfare Food Service and was intended for families with babies or children who could not afford or otherwise obtain fresh milk during rationing, but it continued to be used well into the 1970s. It was also suggested to help new mothers get back into the workforce during the war.
Commercial formulas did not begin to seriously compete with breastfeeding until the 1950s, when marketing campaigns and the provision of inexpensive formula to hospitals began. By the early 1960s, the use of commercial formulas was widespread.
More recently, there have been further changes in infant milk composition, with the addition of individual ingredients that aim to make infant milk closer in composition to breastmilk. However, despite these advances, breastmilk contains over 300+ components contributing to the health and well-being of infants, compared with only about 75 at most in typical infant formula. The cells that pass from the mother and the wide range of other immunological factors in breastmilk cannot be replicated
