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4.1
Milk Feeding
Summary
●● Breast milk is the optimal milk feed for infants protection against illness. It also carries a risk of
because it is nutritionally adequate and reduces contamination.
the risk of illness in infants.
●● There are minor differences between brands
●● Breastfeeding mothers may need support to and types of infant formulas.
overcome any problems and help them to
continue to breastfeed for as long as possible. ●● All bottles, teats, pumps and containers must
be washed and sterilized before being used for
●● Infant formula is the only alternative to breast breast milk or infant formula until the infant is
milk for the first 6 months. It is nutritionally 12 months old.
adequate but does not provide the same
Nutritional Requirements of Exclusive breastfeeding from birth is possible
Infants 0–6 Months except for a few medical conditions, and
unrestricted exclusive breastfeeding results in
The nutritional requirements of term infants from ample milk production. (WHO 2003)
birth to about 6 months (see Chapter 1.2) can be
satisfied by exclusive breastfeeding or infant formula Infant formula is the only nutritionally adequate
if the mother was well nourished during pregnancy. alternative to breast milk during the first 6 months
If a mother did not take a vitamin D supplement for term infants. Even though it does not provide
during pregnancy then the infant should begin a immunity to protect infants from illness, it has
supplement of vitamin D soon after birth. become the more socially acceptable way to feed
infants, and by 6 weeks more than half of UK
Choice of Milk Feeding infants are being fed formula milk, resulting in
higher hospital admission rates of infants (Bolling
Exclusive breastfeeding is the optimal way to feed et al. 2007). It has been estimated that if all UK
infants until weaning onto solid food begins at infants were exclusively breastfed, the number
about 6 months of age. It provides: hospitalized each month with diarrhoea would be
halved, and the number hospitalized with a
●● the complete nutritional requirements respiratory infection would be cut by a quarter
(Quigley et al. 2007).
●● protection against illness.
When parents have access to reliable advice and
Ideally, the main milk drink should continue to be information, they can make an informed choice on
breast milk throughout the weaning period how to feed their infants. Maternity units that
(Agostoni et al. 2008) and beyond for as long as the follow the ‘Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding’
mother wishes to continue.
