Heather wrote:
>Very interesting, Linda...AHAH  indeed.

I echo this. Thanks, Linda, for this post. I found it very interesting.

>Most ABMs come in two forms - whey-dominant and casein-dominant, whch are
>usually marketed as a stage one and a stage two (here in the UK, anyway)
>and the usual pattern among formula-feeding mothers is to start off with
>stage one and then move on (when the baby starts to fuss and grumble) at
>about six weeks or so to the stage two. This is also advised by HPs.
>
>Stage one is whey-dominant in most brands;  stage two is casein-dominant,
>and stage two is marketed as taking longer to digest, so it is more
>'suitable' (Ha!) for 'hungrier' babies.

Peter Hartmann talks about the marketing for casein-dominant formulas - ie
for 'hard-to-settle' babies (one of the ads here at one stage at least - he
has a slide of this). He explains that casein is digested and broken down
into smaller peptides - I think they are called caseinomorphins, or
somthing similar. These have a morphine-like effect, ie make baby sleepy.
Nature designed cow's milk to have lots of this so that the calf would lie
quietly sleeping in the grass and not attract predators while mum went off
the graze for lengthy periods. This is why casein-dominant formulas may
settle babies more easily or for longer - not because they are better for
the baby! Human babies were not designed to be zonked out so mother could
go off and leave them for hours on end! Unfortunately, Western culture
would have us believe that this is a good thing. <sigh>


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Joy Anderson B.Sc. Dip.Ed. Grad.Dip.Med.Tech. IBCLC
Nursing Mothers' Association of Australia Breastfeeding Counsellor
Perth, Western Australia.   mailto:[log in to unmask]
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