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Breast milk is the milk that nature has devised for mammals to feed their newborn young, making it the only food that can exclusively provide a human being with all the nutrients it needs.
At present, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that, during the first six months of life, the infant receives only his mother's milk - or failing that, the corresponding formula milk. This formula milk is cow's milk (or vegetable milks for babies with allergies) adapted to get as close as possible to the composition of breast milk. This is what can happen if you don't breastfeed your baby.
The macro and micronutrient content of breast milk is in the ideal proportion for the optimal development of the baby, taking into account that its digestive system and immune system have not yet reached maturity.These nutrients are practically absorbed by the entire body of the infant, being its easy and fast digestion, so that infants generate very little waste.
Feeding with formula milk, despite being adapted in the best possible way, doubles the difficulty of the digestion process, increasing the probability of colic. This complication is increased to the maximum if the baby is fed with non-adapted milk, which can seriously damage the gastrointestinal tract.
Unadapted cow's milk, as well as soy, rice or oat vegetable drinks, provide higher amounts of protein and more protein profiles difficult for the baby to assimilate. These amounts of protein - and minerals, in amounts roughly 4 times higher in cow's milk than in breast milk - are well above those that the baby's kidneys are prepared to filter, so it is easy for them to become overwhelmed by working far beyond their means.
This damage to the renal system can be permanent, depending on how often the baby feeds with these milks, and his age. On the contrary, these milks lack proteins of great importance, such as lactoferrin, involved in improving the absorption of iron.
Additionally, the fats present in unadapted milk are very different from the long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, specifically arachidonic and docosahexaenoic acids present in human milk. These essential fatty acids, as well as the oligosaccharides that breast milk contains, are essential for the development of the central nervous system and in particular of the brain, so severe brain damage can occur by feeding the child with non-adapted milk.
Also cholesterol, present in breast milk in amounts higher than cow's milk and absent in plant milks, is of vital importance to make the cell wall, bile salts as well as many hormones, interfering with the infant's growth if it is fed with non-adapted milk.
You can read more articles similar to What can happen if you don't feed your baby breast milk or formula, in the category of On-site breastfeeding.
