Did You Know the FDA Regulates Baby Formula?

Disclosure:  I received the product and gift card below in exchange for sharing my honest opinion.  Perrigo Nutritionals product, gift card, information, and additional gift card have all been provided by Perrigo Nutritionals.

When I had my first child I rememeber being so clueless and overwhelmed.  I admit I read that What to Expect baby book from front to back.  I was the first of our friends to have a baby and in my family the youngest was about 8 years old.  So basically I had no one close to me to give me current advice. A lot had changed since my mom had my sister and so I had to look elsewhere for help.  I asked my pediatrician and I scoured the Internet for advice.

As a new mom, I also had to budget the best I could because I was going to stay home and that meant we’d loose my income.  Baby essentials were expensive though and it seemed like my son never stopped eating or pooping!  So lots of diapers and canisters of formula.  I was fortunate to be able to breast feed for a few months but then had lactation issues so I switched to formula, so it was an expense too that I wasn’t anticipating since I was hoping to breast feed his whole first year.

I still remember the first time I went to buy formula for my son and I walked into the aisle at Target and was shocked.  I had no clue there were that many different kinds of formula!  From differnt brands to different diets to different ages, I stood there for probably 10 minutes.  Then I ended up buying the same brand and variety that the hospital had given me a sample of.  I figured it must be the best since the hospital was giving it to me, right?  Well yes and no.

Did you know that 71% of pediatricians believe all infant formulas are basically the same, the brand doesn’t matter?  Perrigo Nutritionals Store Brand Formula’s “Pulse of Pediatricians” Survey had some other survey results that I found interesting:

A new, nationwide survey of pediatricians looked at the most common questions new moms will ask. 97 percent of pediatricians say feeding is one of the top three categories new moms ask about and more than half (52 percent) of pediatricians say feeding is the number one topic new moms ask about.

• “Pooping” questions were second (43 percent of respondents). Sleeping was third (41 percent).
• The results were based on a nationwide survey of pediatricians conducted by SERMO, the largest online network exclusively for physicians.
  According to the survey, 71 percent of pediatricians believe all infant formulas are basically the same; the brand doesn’t matter.

The American Academy of Pediatrics and other experts agree on the benefits of breastfeeding; these experts also agree that infant formula is a safe, science-supported, nutritious means to nourish babies.

• Most moms don’t know that the FDA strictly regulates formula to keep little ones safe, so store brand formulas, like Wal-Mart’s Parent’s Choice and Target’s Up & Up, are nutritionally comparable to national brands like Enfamil® and Similac® and meet FDA standards.
• By switching to store brand formula, a family can save up to $600 per year without compromising quality.

New parents tend to ask a lot of questions; pediatricians shared some of the strangest questions new moms and dads asked. The strangest question from a new mom was, “Can my newborn have ice cream” and the strangest question from a new dad was, “Is it ok for my new born baby to go kite surfing on my back?”

I had felt like I was a bad mom if I bought my child so-called “generic” formula, but after reading that store brand is regulated by the FDA to be comparable to name brands, I realized it was okay.  I will say too that after trying a variety with my son the only thing I noticed was the smell and consistencies were different, but otherwise my son was just as happy with store brand formula.  I remember too being asked the nurse at one of the appointements what brand of formula I was using and quietly saying the name brand and she told me that was completely fine.

Whatever you choose to feed your child, don’t be afraid to talk to your pediatrician about it.  Maybe they feel one brand is better than the other or maybe they agree with the survey results above that it doesn’t matter. Either way, as moms we shouldn’t feel like a bad mom for saving money while buying store brand formulas.  The FDA is not going to let mothers feed their children something that isn’t up to par.

Visit www.storebrandformula.com for formula coupons and more information.

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