The Risks of Infant Formula Feeding
Formula feeding accounts for up to 26% of insulin dependent diabetes mellitus in children. Otitis media (middle ear infection) is up to 3-4 times as prevalent in formula-fed infants. US Formula fed infants have a 10 fold risk of being hospitalized for any bacterial infection.
Scores on the Baley Mental Development Index were lower in formula-fed children at 1-2 years of age. Scores were directly correlated with the duration of breastfeeding. Formula fed preterm infants had lower IQ scores (8 points) at age 7-8 years than breastfed premies, even after adjustment for mother's education and social class.
Due to an excessive phosphate load in formula, formula fed infants face a 30-fold risk of neonatal hypocalcemic tetany (convulsions, seizures, twitching) during the first 10 days of life. Formula fed infants are at a high risk of exposure to life-threatening bacterial contamination. Enterobacter sakazakii is a frequent contaminant in powdered formula and can cause sepsis and meningitis in newborns.
Add the risk of formula recalls found at: http://www.caprine.co.nz/reference/linki... and then decide if using them is worth the risks you may be subjecting the non-human infant to. Cases of Salmonella contamination, glass particles found in formula bottles and labeling errors. "Several studies link formula feeding with rotavirus gastroenteritis, celiac disease, Crohn's Disease, ulcerative colitis in adulthood, childhood-onset insulin dependent diabetes mellitus, lymphomas."
Are you really willing to take the chance that the human infant formula you feed the non-human infant in your care is safe?
And more information about mother's milk versus formula: http://www.fao.org/docrep/V4700E/V4700E0... "The evidence from animal experiments suggests that pre and post-natal nutrition have pronounced effects on brain lipid composition and learning (Gall) and Socini, 1983). Specific deficits of n-3 fatty acids influence neural integrity (Budowski, Leighfield and Crawford, 1987) and selectively affect learning and visual abilities (Wheeler, Benolken and Anderson, 1975; Lamptey and Walker, 1976; Bourre et al., 1989; Yamamoto et al., 1987). Studies with non-human primates confirm that n-3 deficiency depresses the development of retinal function and visual acuity (Neuringer, Anderson and Connor, 1988; Connor, Lin and Neuringer, 1990).
Data on brain composition provide a comparison of formula-fed versus breastmilk-fed babies and give further evidence that dietary fatty acids influence the developing brain of term infants (Farquharson et al., 1992). Eight year follow-up studies which compared premature babies who were fed human milk by tube with those fed formula showed an IQ which was eight points lower in those children who had been fed formula (Lucas et al., 1992)."
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