Infant formula, baby formula or just formula or baby milk, infant milk or first milk, is a manufactured food designed and marketed for feeding to babies and infants under 12 months of age, usually prepared for bottle-feeding or cup-feeding from powder or liquid.

For the first 6 months, breast milk is all your baby needs to meet his or her nutrition needs. If you wean your baby before 12 months of age, be sure to give an iron-fortified formula. Breastfeeding should continue until your baby is 12 months old (and after as long as baby and mom would like to continue).

You’re very likely to have enough milk for your baby. Your body makes milk on a supply-and-demand basis, so your baby gets what he needs, every time he feeds.

When you start breastfeeding, though, it’s natural to worry that your breastmilk isn’t enough.

It’s one of the most common reasons why mums decide to stop breastfeeding, or give their babies formula milk as well as breastmilk (mixed feeding).

If you start giving your baby formula as well as breastmilk, you may find yourself in a bit of a cycle.

If your baby needs less of your breastmilk because he’s formula-fed, your breasts will get the signal to make less milk. Then you’ll need to keep topping him up with formula to satisfy his appetite.

You can quickly turn this around by continuing to breastfeed your baby whenever he wants, for as long as he wants. You can give your milk supply an extra boost by expressing after feeds.

Breastfeeding is best for your baby, as it protects him against illness. If you give your baby formula, he may be more liable to catch a tummy bug or chest infection in his first year.

Even if you can only breastfeed for a short while, your baby will still benefit. But the longer you breastfeed, the longer your baby is protected. The Department of Health advises breastfeeding exclusively for the first six months.