Breastfeeding

Alternative names

Nursing; Lactation

Definition

Breastfeeding is giving human breast milk to infants to meet their nutritional needs.

See also:

• Breastfeeding tips
  
• Overcoming breastfeeding problems
  
• Breastfeeding mothers - self-care
  
• Formula feeding
  
• Age-appropriate diet for children
  

Recommendations

Choosing how and what to feed your baby is a personal decision that deserves careful and thorough consideration. Breast milk is the natural nutritional source for infants less than one year of age.

Most healthcare professionals (including the American Academy of Pediatricians and the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Associates and Practitioners) recommend breastfeeding for your baby's first year.

Breast milk is the best source of nutrition for the first six months of life. It contains appropriate amounts of carbohydrate, protein, and fat, and provides digestive enzymes, minerals, vitamins, and hormones that infants require. Breast milk also contains antibodies from the mother that can help the baby resist infections.

Experts agree that breastfeeding your baby for any length of time, regardless of how short, is of benefit to you and your baby.

You can provide your baby with breast milk by either breastfeeding or by feeding your baby breast milk from a bottle.

Breastfeeding your baby (directly from the breast):

• can only be done by you
  
• can be done exclusively or can be supplemented with bottle feedings
  

Feeding your baby breast milk (which has been expressed):

• can be given with a bottle (by you or others)
  
• requires regular pumping of milk from your breasts
  
• requires appropriate handling and storage of milk
  
• requires appropriate preparation of bottles and nipples
  

Most doctors advise strictly breastfeeding for the first couple of weeks, until breastfeeding is firmly established, rather than switching back and forth to a bottle. This recommendation is based on the possibility of nipple confusion which can cause sucking and feeding problems for infants who are switched between breastfeeding and bottle feeding. After two months of age, most babies adapt to bottle nipples easily.