Ms. Mary Silva
Specializing in feeding and nutrition.
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 Ask Mary Silva
Feeding Infants Corn Syrup | | | QUESTION | | | Dear Ms. Silva,
My friend recently had a baby. He's four weeks old now. She was breastfeeding but quit to return to work. She was told by her grandmother that it was OK to feed him a mixture of whole milk and corn syrup. Well I talked her out of the whole milk thing, but she is still giving him the corn syrup for easier bowel movements, only now she gives him three ounces a day, sometimes more. Is this safe? I wouldn't think so. He has at least 6 bowel movements a day.— Concerned Babysitter in Wauchula, FL | | | ANSWER |
March 22, 2001 | | | Dear Concerned Babysitter,
You're right to be concerned about giving corn syrup to an infant. Corn syrup is not recommended for infants because there often is contamination with botulism spores. The immune systems of infants less than a year old are too immature to stop these spores from growing and causing infant botulism, a serious and life threatening illness.
Taking this amount of corn syrup also displaces the amount of formula the baby is drinking. The same amount of formula would provide much better nutrition rather than the empty calories of this type of sugar. Your friend may want to discuss her concerns about the baby's bowel movements with her child's healthcare provider.— by Mary Silva, M.S., R.D. |
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