This page aims to give you all the information you need to safely bottle feed your baby.
The early days with your baby are a great time to get to know and love each other. We encourage you to keep your baby close to you, enjoy skin to skin contact, look out for signs that your baby is hungry, and to feed your baby as soon as you notice this.
Babies feel more secure if most feeds are given by their parents, especially in the early weeks. This will help you bond with each other and has a positive impact on your baby’s brain development and emotional well-being.
For information and support about how to safely prepare formula and tips for getting off to a good start with bottle feeding, click the button below:
Guide to bottle feeding
Click the button below to view the Unicef Baby Friendly Initiative ten steps to responsive bottle feeding:
Responsive bottle feedingIf you are planning to feed formula in hospital
Do
Bring small, ready-to-feed bottles into hospital with you. As a guide, your baby will need approximately eight feeds per day.
Bring only first stage infant formula – we do not recommend a particular brand
Don’t
Bring powdered formula into hospital – we do not have the facilities to prepare this safely
Bring larger bottles of ready-to-mix formula into hospital – we do not have the facilities to store formula once opened
Further information about infant formula
First Steps Nutrition Trust is the only source of unbiased, evidence-based information for parents around different first milks for your babies. Visit their website to find out more.
We do not recommend the use of infant formula preparation machines.
There are a number of infant formula preparation machines on the market. There are problems with these devices that can lead to your baby becoming seriously unwell.