When my baby has a face rash which the paediatrician thought was eczema, the paed suggested I change to a HA formula. My baby is largely fed on breast milk but does take about 1 or 2 bottles of formula in a day. I did some research online and found that there are scientific studies that support the preventive effect of a partially hydrolysed whey formula specifically NAN HA:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=9404092&dopt=AbstractPlus
Hence for breastmilking mothers who need supplementing for their babies, I think it is better to supplement with NAN HA 1 than other normal cow's milk formula no matter how "branded" or popular it is. All the various normal brands are just cow's milk based formulas and the difference between the brands is not going to be huge.
From an allergy prevention perspective (whether you have a family history or not), I don't quite see the point of using normal cow's milk formula when NAN HA 1 seems to be about the same price as Similac or Enfalac and just as easily available. It also contains DHA, AHA etc. If you normally use a cheaper formula, then price may be a concern.
I had used Similac and Enfalac previously and found that NAN HA is the easiest to dissolve. It can be dissolved with a few shakes while the other 2 tend to have undissolved lumps at the bottom of the bottle.
NAN HA is actually only a partially hydrolysed whey formula. For infants with known cow's milk allergy, only extensively hydrolysed whey or casein formula (Abbott's Alimentum, Meadjohnson's Nutramigen) or even amino acid formula (Neocate) can be used and I suspect it may only be available from a paediatrician.
Based on my research, babies can become sensitised with early exposure to cow's milk so if the baby has already taken normal formula, his body may already develop some sensitivity. If this is the case, shouldn't pregnant ladies with known family history be routinely advised to avoid cow's milk or other allergy causing food from the last month of pregnancy and to feed their babies only NAN HA 1 at least or even more drastically, other extensively hydrolysed formula (if not breastfeeding or a need to supplement)?