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Ashford: Mum believes Aptamil formula changes made her baby ill

A mother believes a recent change in the recipe of a popular baby formula has left her son crying uncontrollably and being sick straight after bottles.

Natalie Bibey has been using Aptamil, made by Danone, for a few weeks to feed her 13-week-old son, Alfie.

She thinks changes made to several of the company's powdered formulas have made her son ill.

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Natalie and Alfie
Natalie and Alfie

Her two-year-old daughter Chloe also drank Aptamil when she was younger.

Mrs Bibey, 28, said: "When they brought out the new formula, they introduced it with a leaflet inside the old formula box which said it's completely safe to change your baby's milk, just keep using it as normal.

"There was nothing in the leaflet saying you might find that your baby is a bit unsettled.

"Alfie had been absolutely fine on the other formula but I noticed this one was clumping and leaving residue around the bottle.

"When he was feeding his nappies were really lose, he was being sick straight after the bottles and was quite fussy, almost like he had colic.

"He was also crying uncontrollably after."

Clumps are visible in the new formula, left, comapared to the old one, right
Clumps are visible in the new formula, left, comapared to the old one, right

As well as coping with her unwell baby, Mrs Bibey had also been struggling to contact the company.

After ringing Aptamil on Sunday and Tuesday, Mrs Bibey finally managed to get hold of them today.

She continued: "I managed to get hold of them on Facebook but I haven't seen anything on their website, it's all very hidden.

"Its been hard for me because I was feeding him quite successfully on my own through breastfeeding but he started to need more milk than I was able to give him, so I thought I was doing the right thing by going onto formula as well.

"You don't need the added guilt of you feeling like you've made your baby ill, even though you haven't done that, and they said it's perfectly safe to go to this new Aptamil.

"You have to be really careful changing a baby's formula from one brand to another and what you're feeding them because babies tummies are really sensitive, so I didn't want to completely change brands when he had been settled on Aptamil."

Mrs Bibey has now managed to get hold of some of the old formula which she is hoping will tide her over until she is able to put Alfie on follow-on milk.

Since going back to the old product, Alfie has been feeding normally.

The packaging has also been changed
The packaging has also been changed

A Danone spokeswoman said: "There’s been a lot of discussion and speculation and we have received complaints.

"We would like to reassure parents that the quality and safety of our products is our number one priority.

"This formula has gone through extensive quality and safety checks including clinical trials, product testing and product experience tests in more than 1,000 babies.

"These results have shown us that the product is safe and babies take to the formula well."

However, the company added that in hindsight "we could have made the on-pack changes to the formula and mixing instructions clearer and we will take action on this".

The firm continued: "There are new instructions on the pack, specifically about shaking the bottle vigorously for 10 seconds, ideally in a vertical position."

Parents with any worries can call the Careline for free on 0800 996 1000.

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