When a neonate requires a special diet or when a mother can’t or chooses not to breast-feed, formula is the next-best food source.

Formula preparations supply needed vitamins and nutrients and can be given by anyone.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends the use of commercially prepared formula over animal milks or homemade preparations for the infant’s first year.

Because formulas must be sterile, they’re prepared either by the sterile method (in which all articles used in formula preparation are sterilized before mixing) or by the terminal heat method (in which the formula is prepared with clean technique and then sterilized using a home sterilizer).

In the United States, some pediatricians recommend clean technique and tap water for formulas because water supplies are clean and safe in most areas.

A normal neonate takes 15 to 20 minutes to consume a 1- to 1½-oz portion of formula and usually feeds every 3 to 4 hours.

Commercially prepared formula or ingredients in bottle

Nipple and cap

Wash your hands.

Invert the bottle and shake some formula on your wrist to test the patency of the nipple hole and the formula’s temperature. The nipple should be firm—not soft—to prevent collapse from sucking. The nipple hole should allow formula to drip freely but not to stream out. If the hole is too large, the neonate may aspirate formula; if it’s too small, the extra sucking effort he expends may tire him before he can empty the bottle.