Other types of milk

Cow’s milk

Cow’s milk should not be given to a baby under 9 months old. It contains too much protein and too many minerals for the baby’s kidneys to handle. Cow’s milk does not provide the necessary elements for your baby to develop properly.

Before babies are 9 months old, cow’s milk often causes anemia because it contains very little iron, and it reduces intake of other foods. Cow’s milk can also cause light bleeding in the intestine and that bleeding is often invisible to the naked eye.

However, cow’s milk can be used in recipes that will be given to your baby, such as muffins or pancakes. Other dairy products such as yogurt and cheese can also be given to your baby if she’s started eating iron-rich foods twice a day (see Milk and dairy products).

Conditions for introducing cow’s milk

Your child can start drinking cow’s milk if:

• she is 9 months or older,
• her diet is varied, meaning she eats iron-rich foods (e.g., meat, meat alternatives, iron‑enriched baby cereals) and vegetables and fruit every day.

Otherwise, wait till your baby is 12 months old before introducing cow’s milk. If you have any concerns about your baby’s diet, contact your healthcare provider.

How should I introduce cow’s milk?

Once your child is 9 months old, you can gradually introduce cow’s milk. For example, you can replace some of the breast milk or commercial infant formula with cow’s milk. Then you can gradually increase the proportion of cow’s milk at each feeding.

You can give your child up to 750 ml (25 oz) of cow’s milk a day. Feeding more than that could reduce her appetite for other foods, including iron-rich foods.

What milk should I give?

If you give cow’s milk to your child, choose pasteurized cow’s milk with 3.25% milk fat. It can be:

• Ordinary homogenized milk, enriched with vitamin D 
  or
• Unsweetened evaporated milk, enriched with vitamins C and D, diluted in an equal quantity of water

Never serve sweetened concentrated milk.

Milk with fat

Young children need fat for growth and brain development. It’s better to avoid giving them 2% milk before age 2. Do not serve 1% or skimmed milk to your child.

You can continue serving whole milk (3.25% milk fat) to your child throughout early childhood, up to school age.

Pasteurized milk

It is essential to pasteurize animal milk. In fact, the sale of unpasteurized milk is prohibited in Canada. Many diseases can be transmitted through raw or unpasteurized milk (e.g., salmonella, poliomyelitis).

Industrial pasteurization consists of heating the milk very rapidly to very high temperatures, and then cooling it equally rapidly. Dangerous microorganisms are destroyed. The pasteurized milk sold in food stores is just as nutritious as raw milk and poses no risks to your child’s health.

It is not recommended to try to pasteurize milk at home.

Pasteurized goat’s milk

For babies less than 9 months old, goat’s milk has the same disadvantages as cow’s milk: It doesn’t provide the necessary elements for proper development and can cause iron deficiency. You can start serving goat’s milk to your child between the ages of 9 and 12 months. Choose pasteurized whole goat’s milk (3.25% milk fat), and choose milk that’s been fortified with folic acid and vitamin D.

Some people recommend goat’s milk for preventing or treating allergies to the proteins in cow’s milk. Unfortunately, goat’s milk often causes the same reactions. Many children who are allergic to cow’s milk are also allergic to goat’s milk.

Enriched soy drinkss

Enriched soy drinks are not suitable for infants and can hinder your baby’s growth. They are incomplete and much less nutritious than breast milk or even commercial infant formulas.

Soy drinks contain fewer calories and less fat than whole cow’s milk (3.25% milk fat). This is why it is recommended that you wait till your child has reached 2 years of age before serving her soy drinks.

Some parents want to serve soy drinks to younger children. You can give your child soy drinks after 1 year of age, as long as she eats a varied diet and is growing normally. Make sure that the soy drink you choose for your 1 to 2 year old has the following terms listed on the label:

• “Enriched,” because drinks that are not enriched do not provide enough nutrients to meet the needs of a young child
• “Plain” or “Original,” because “light” or flavoured drinks are not suitable

Shake the drink container well (around fifteen times) before serving to make sure the nutrients are well mixed, especially the calcium.

Anemia: Condition that can lead to severe fatigue, often caused by a lack of iron in the blood.

Nutrients: Components of food, including vitamins, minerals, proteins, sugars, and fats.