Why your breastfed baby is refusing the bottle

By Rowena Bennett, RN, RM, CHN, MHN, IBCLC

Many breastfed babies hesitate or refuse to take a bottle, even when they’re healthy, hungry, and developmentally ready. This can feel confusing and stressful for parents, especially when returning to work, sharing feeds, or needing flexibility. Bottle refusal is usually a behavioural response rather than a medical problem, and understanding your baby’s feeding experiences, temperament, and expectations can help you find an approach that works for both of you

What's important to know

• Breastfed babies may resist a bottle for reasons unrelated to preference or hunger

• Bottle refusal is often behavioural, not medical, and can improve with the right approach

• Timing, technique, and the emotional tone of feeding attempts play a big role

• Baby-led, pressure-free methods help babies learn to accept the bottle calmly

Why Some Breastfed Babies Refuse the Bottle

Babies are creatures of habit and comfort. Through repeated feeding experiences, they develop expectations around how feeding looks, feels, and tastes. Some adapt easily to change; others are more hesitant, depending on their temperament and prior experiences.

Understanding your baby’s behavior during feeding transitions can help you respond more effectively, especially if they resist bottle-feeding.

Common Reasons for Bottle Refusal

Even healthy, typically developing breastfed babies might resist bottle-feeding for a variety of reasons:

• Baby hasn’t learned how to bottle-feed.
  Breast and bottle feeding involve different mouth movements. Once a baby’s sucking reflex fades (around 3–4 months), success with either method depends on what they’ve learned through practice.

• Dislikes the taste of formula or stored milk.
  Stored breast milk can taste different due to storage methods or lipase activity. Formula, especially hypoallergenic types, may also taste unfamiliar or unpleasant.

• No motivation to try.
  If breastfeeding is meeting all their needs, some babies simply aren’t hungry enough to try a bottle.

• Prefers breastfeeding.
  Babies often favor what’s familiar and comforting, especially if past bottle attempts were stressful.

• Associates breastfeeding with sleep.
  A baby used to nursing to fall asleep may reject a bottle when tired, especially if they don’t link bottle-feeding with comfort or sleep.

• Feeding aversion.
  Stressful feeding experiences, often caused by pressure or force, can lead to a bottle-feeding aversion.

• Prefers one parent or caregiver.
  A baby may feed better with a specific person based on emotional comfort, routine, or past interactions.

Finding a solution for bottle refusal

Every baby is different, and so are the reasons behind bottle refusal. Success often depends on:

• Your goals (e.g., part-time or full-time bottle-feeding)

• Your baby’s age, temperament, and feeding history

• Type and taste of milk offered

• Timing and consistency of bottle practice

• Sensitivity to your baby’s cues

Sometimes, resolving bottle refusal is simple—other times, it takes personalized guidance and patience.

Explore our programs:

• Breast to bottle Course – A gentle, baby-led approach for a smooth transition.

• Bottle Aversion Course  – A faster, step-by-step plan to help reverse aversions.

Written by Rowena Bennett

© Copyright www.babycareadvice.com 2025. All rights reserved. Permission from author must be obtained to reproduce all or any part of this article. 

About Rowena 

Founder of Baby Care Advice, Rowena Bennett (RN, RM, CHN, MHN, IBCLC) brings over 45 years of clinical nursing experience, including more than 30 years specialising in infant feeding and sleep. She is the author of Your Baby’s Bottle-Feeding Aversion, Your Sleepless Baby, and Baby-Led Bottle-Feeding.