The prevalence of cow’s milk protein allergy (CMPA) in infants varies from 2 to 7.5% ¹.

CMPA often begins in the first months of life and generally persists for several months or even years1. According to a literature review², tolerance is still not achieved after 3 to 4 years in around 20% of cases.

Elimination of cow’s milk proteins from the diet is the only way to manage CMPA. 

If the baby is breastfed, mothers should be encouraged to continue breastfeeding while avoiding all milk products from their diet. To do so, they should get dietary counselling on cow’s milk elimination but also get appropriate nutritional supplementation (calcium, vitamin D)³.

If the baby is not breastfed, he/she should be fed with an adapted formula without whole cow’s milk proteins. Several alternatives exist such as formulas based on extensively hydrolyzed cow’s milk proteins.

After 2 to 4 weeks of cow’s milk elimination, should symptoms improve or disappear, breastfeeding or a diet with an adapted formula must be continued on a long term basis. The majority of infants and children with CMPA tolerate these formulas⁴. 

However, if symptoms do not improve, the baby’s diet must be re-evaluated.

The second-line treatment is an amino-acid formula for infants intolerant to extensively hydrolyzed or with multiple food allergies.