Does anyone know...can you feed a baby raw cow's milk???

[dairy_girl]

umm.. no! your baby calf just needs his mamas milk all naturell "or however you spell that! "

The OP is referrring to a human baby.

ummm... hmmm... i would say yes to that! we have freinds that feed there newborn babys raw cow milk and had no problems with it!

 

[Farmer Kitty]

There is a lot of bacteria in raw milk-not all of it good-and an infant or toddler under 2 years old isn't able to fit the bad bacteria off like an older child or adult.

 

[dairy_girl]

a lot of people feed there babys raw cow milk

 

[Beekissed]

I'm sure its been done quite a bit down through the ages.

 

[Farmer Kitty]

Doesn't mean it's the safest or best though.

 

[Beekissed]

Well, we don't hesitate to give our young ones store bought milk though, do we? And what hormones, antibiotics and who knows what other chemicals we are pouring down their throats? Its pretty safe to say that there are dangers rampant in most of the foods we eat now days. I'm just saying that a lot of our ancestors thrived on raw cow's milk and lived to tell about it...maybe some didn't. Much the same gamble we take now when eating a simple tomato!

 

[Farmer Kitty]

You can pasturize your own milk or if your lucky, like me, you have a farm that pasturizes and sells their milk around you. One of those small farm stores!

I've also heard enough "Old time stories" to know that many did pasturize their milk for the little ones. At least since pasturization and it's benefits were discovered.

 

[EmsoffLambs]

Aside from potential bacteria contamination, cows milk is not balanced for human babies. All mammal's milk has different proportions of fat, protein, and lactose. Human milk is very different in composition from cows milk. This is why it's recommended that children be fed only either breast milk or formula for their first year. Even goats and lambs will not thrive on cows milk, nor will puppies or kittens, so it makes sense that we would not expect a child to either.

Certainly, before formula was invented, some babies were raised on cows milk. However, a lot of things were done out of necessity that we've since learned a better way. There is also a much lower death rate in babies and higher life expectancy in humans in our country than in the past too. Heck, women used to die all the time in childbirth, which is a real rarity anymore.

Just a few thoughts.

 

[Arctichicken]

Just a reminder but most baby formulas are made from cow's milk. So yes while it is nutritionally different than human milk which is of course best for human babies, cow's milk is usually the #2 choice .

 

[Farmer Kitty]

Formula's may use cow's milk as a base but, it is also pasturized and nutrients added. You know I would be interested in what other countries use in their formula. Here cows milk is what we drink most for milk but, what about other countries. It seems to me there are some that use more goats milk. I wonder about their formulas? Does it change due to the difference in what they consume most or do they use the same stuff we do?