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Infant Formula - To Use or Not to Use - Part 1

© Karen Hawkins

Infant Formula - To Use or Not to Use Are the Potential Risks Worth the Price?

Too often we don't have access to documented information when faced with important decisions. We end up relying on other people's personal experiences and can only hope that our own experiences have a positive outcome. Such seems to be the case when infant formula for non-human primates comes up in conversations between primate caretakers.

It is generally agreed upon that "Mother's Milk" (no matter what species of mother is being referred to) is the most nutritious, easily digested form of nourishment for that mother's infant. In reality, there are times when a mother is not able to breast feed their infant and choosing a formula that is mixed specifically for that species is most important, not only for optimal development but to minimize possible negative side-effects (short and long term). Non-human primates develop ideally when left in their mother's care. "Work with non-human primate infants has shown that contact with mother, of which nipple-contact is an important component, not only reduces behavioral stress, but also reduces the infant's adrenocortical response to stressors such as disruption of the social group, capture and handling, and rehousing in novel environments" (Coe et al., 1978; Gunnar et al., 1981b). When this is not an option, it is imperative you feed a supplement that comes closest to the natural contents of a non-human primate's milk.

Human infant formula is usually not the supplement of choice, if you want the best start for the non-human infant. Studies are being done to document a possible correlation in risks associated with feeding non-human primates with human infant formulas, such as diabetes. Late weaning of non-human primates is believed to be associated with obesity in their later years. There fore this is another factor to be taken into consideration when hand-rearing an infant non-human primate.

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