Tell her that breastfeeding is the only way a baby will be able to regulate their feeding and that it is inevitable that the baby will feed more when bottle-fed

Although breastfeeding heightens an infant’s ability to self-regulate their energy intake, it is still possible to feed responsively through bottle-feeds

Inform her that responsive feeding is possible with bottle-fed infants and there is a formula milk available (First Infant Milk) that is clinically proven to show growth comparable to a breastfed baby

Discuss responsive feeding and recognition of hunger and fullness cues with bottle-feeding. If the mother specifically asked about formulas, you can discuss First Infant Milk, which has an amino acid profile closer to that of breast milk and is the only infant milk clinically proven to achieve a growth rate comparable with a breastfed baby

Provide her with some bottle-feeding tips and encourage her to recognise signs of hunger and fullness

Tips such as recognising hunger and fullness cues and setting a routine will help encourage a good feeding pattern

Tell her that babies are unable to communicate hunger and fullness and she will just have to follow the instructions on the formula milk packaging

Babies have different temperaments so may communicate hunger and fullness in different ways. Assure her that there are no set rules and she should take the time to get to know when her baby does or does not want feeding.