Can babies have goat's milk?

The verdict

No, not as a main drink before your baby turns one. The reason is the same as for cows' milk and it is worth saying plainly, because goat's milk is marketed as the gentle option and parents often assume it escapes the rule.

It does not. The NHS puts goats' and sheep's milk in exactly the same category as cows' milk: not suitable as a main drink for babies under 1 year old as, like cows' milk, they do not contain enough iron and other nutrients babies this age need. From the first birthday, pasteurised goat's milk is an ordinary main drink in the UK and Ireland.

Why the iron argument decides it

A baby is born with an iron store that runs down over the first six months. From then on, iron has to come from food and milk. Breast milk contains little iron but it is exceptionally well absorbed; infant formula is fortified. Animal milks, whether from cows, goats or sheep, are low in iron and the iron they do contain is poorly absorbed.

A baby whose main drink is goat's milk in the second half of the first year is therefore drinking large volumes of something that displaces better sources of iron while supplying almost none. The result guidance is trying to prevent is iron deficiency anaemia, which in infancy is associated with effects on development that are not fully reversible by later treatment. New Zealand's Ministry of Health made that argument explicitly when it reviewed and declined to follow a WHO change on animal milks for 6 to 11 month olds, citing an increased risk of iron deficiency and anaemia in that age group.

The other problems

Iron is the headline, but not the whole list. Animal milks carry a high renal solute load, meaning a lot of protein and minerals for immature kidneys to clear. Goat's milk in particular is low in folate and vitamin B12. And unpasteurised goat's milk, which is easier to buy than unpasteurised cows' milk in many places, adds a food poisoning risk that young children should not be exposed to at all.

Goat's milk formula is a different product

Goat's milk formula is not a carton of goat's milk. It is an infant formula built to the same compositional standard as cows' milk formula, with the protein source changed. The NHS says it is produced to the same nutritional standards as cows' milk formula, and it is suitable from birth.

What it is not is an allergy solution, and this is the single most important thing on this page. Both the NHS and the HSE state it directly: goats' milk formula is not suitable for babies with cows' milk protein allergy, because the proteins the two contain are very similar. The NHS adds that it is no less likely to cause allergies in babies than cows' milk formula.

Parents are sold goat formula on a promise of gentleness, easier digestion and fewer allergies. There is no authority anywhere that supports the allergy claim. If your baby has diagnosed cows' milk protein allergy, the answer is a prescribed extensively hydrolysed or amino acid formula, and it comes from a GP.

Goat's milk in cooking and in yoghurt and cheese

The 12-month rule applies to goat's milk as a main drink. Using it in cooking, or giving full-fat pasteurised goat's yoghurt or well-cooked goat's cheese from around 6 months, sits in the same category as using cows' milk in cooking from around 6 months, which the NHS allows. The volumes are small, they are not replacing milk feeds, and the iron argument does not bite.

Pasteurised is the condition. Unpasteurised goat's milk, and soft cheeses made from it, are not for babies or young children.

Where guidance differs

Nobody disagrees about babies under one. The disagreement is about when goat's milk becomes an acceptable main drink afterwards.

The UK and Ireland clear pasteurised goat's and sheep's milk as a main drink from 1 year, on the same terms as cows' milk.

Australia does not. Its guidance groups goat's milk with soy, rice, oat, almond and coconut as dairy alternatives to avoid until 2 years, on the grounds that they do not have everything a child needs, and clears only pasteurised full-fat cow's milk at 12 months.

The United States does not set a separate goat's milk age. The AAP's position is that plain cow's milk is the drink for children over 12 months, alongside water.

If you are choosing goat's milk as your child's main milk from 1 year, the practical gap to watch is folate and B12, and full-fat is the version to use before age 2.

If your baby has already had some

A taste, or goat's milk in a cooked dish, is not a problem. There is nothing acutely dangerous about pasteurised goat's milk for a baby over 6 months; the issue is what happens when it replaces breast milk or formula over weeks.

If goat's milk has been your baby's main drink under 1 year, tell your GP, health visitor or public health nurse. They may want to check for iron deficiency, which is treatable, and to get your baby back onto breast milk or first infant formula until the first birthday.

If you switched to goat formula hoping to fix reflux, colic, eczema or suspected allergy and it has not worked, that is the expected result rather than a failure on your part, and it is worth going back for a proper assessment.