Last year the U.K. formula maker Cow and Gate introduced "Good Night" thickened formula, intended to help babies sleep longer at night. I wrote a post about it here.
This week several of you emailed me about Enfamil's new product, "RestFull" which promises the same thing.
I thought I'd revisit some thoughts about the idea of formulas to make babies sleep (modified from last year's post):
There's no evidence that babies whose feedings are "thickened" before bedtime sleep any better.
But let's just say for a moment that this new formula does work and babies sleep longer.
Is that a good thing? Many researchers believe that babies' natural tendency to wake during the night is protective against SIDS. Dr. Sears says, "Breastfed babies sleep less soundly than artificially fed infants and are more likely to sleep with their mothers; thus, they may be more easily aroused when they experience a stop-breathing episode."
I emailed Marsha Walker about this. She said that she had spoken with the makers of Enfamil and they told her that this formula is the same as Enfamil AR, just with a different label and new indication for use. Enfamil AR (and RestFull) contain rice starch to thicken the feed and slow digestion.
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