Infant Nutrition: Who and CDC Guidance

Maintaining a healthy nutrition will play an important role in the growth and development of the child. Therefore, after the first 6 months of breastfeeding, it is necessary to pay attention to the nutrients and adequate supplements for the baby when starting to eat miles.

Breast milk is the perfect source of nutrition for babies. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breastfeeding completely for the first 6 months and then continue breastfeeding up to 12 months of age or more. This will provide the baby with the ideal nutritional ment, while supporting the baby's growth and good development.

Although breast milk is the best source of nutrition for babies, babies still need to add vitamin D (starting at birth) and iron (starting from 4 months of age) from supplements.

Breastfeeding is good for both mother and baby. Breast milk is a good source of nutrition for babies and is easily absorbed. As the baby grows, breast milk will change to meet the nutritional needs of the baby. Besides, breastfeeding can also help mothers and babies fight a number of diseases such as:

• Baby benefits: Breastfeeding babies are at low risk for diseases: asthma, obesity, type 1 diabetes mellitus, severe lower respiratory disease, acute otitis media (ear infections), sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), gastrointestinal infections (diarrhea or vomiting), necrotizing enteritis (NEC) – characteristics in premature babies.
• Benefits for mothers: Breastfeeding mothers are also at low risk of diseases such as breast cancer, ovarian cancer, type 2 diabetes mellitus, high blood pressure.

When to eat and how much depends on the needs of each child. Here are some things to know about the extent and frequency of breastfeeding in the first days, weeks and months of life:

• First day

The newborn's abdomen is very small at the moment. At this time the baby does not need a lot of milk with each feeding. The frequency of feeding of the baby is about 1-3 hours. Regular feeding also helps to increase the source of milk as well as practice feeding and swallowing habits.

Breastfeeding is completely in the first 6 months, so the first days should not feed the baby with powdered milk or formula. If you are worried about meeting your baby's needs, talk to your baby's dietitian for nutritional advice.

• First week and first month

When your baby is older, her belly will grow too. At this time, the demand for eating will increase. In the first few weeks or months, the time between meals begins to be longer, and on average every 2-4 hours the baby has a need to eat. However, some babies may be able to feed more and the interval between the two meals may also be shorter.

The frequency of eating of the baby may vary depending on the time of day. Some meals may be long or short and babies will often manifest their fullness with satisfaction and drowsiness after eating. At this time, the baby can breastfeed for about 8-12 times/24 hours.

• 6 to 12 months

When the baby is 6 months old, he continues to breastfeed according to his needs and he will start practicing eating supplements. In case, when the baby begins to get used to eating supplements, it is possible that the baby will be less likely to breastfeed, then the mother should be aware of breastfeeding before additional meals to help maintain the baby's breast milk needs are still guaranteed. Because, breast milk is a very important source of nutrition for babies all day when they have started eating supplements.

When your child starts eating miles, practice getting her used to foods gradually. Feeding babies begins to eat from liquid to solid, and uses a variety of foods to provide a full range of essential nutrients according to the recommended needs. In addition, mothers should perform coloring with food to create nutritional bowls of flour/porridge that stimulate the child to eat better.

• 12 to 24 months

At this stage the number of feedings during the day of the child will be different. Some babies only feed before bedtime or breastfeed in the morning, but on the contrary some other babies breastfed make up the majority of the daily diet. At this time, the child is also older and more developed, so in addition to maintaining breastfeeding with sufficient quantity and quality of nutrients, mothers need to pay attention to the diet of supplements for the baby. Combining both breastfeeding and eating supplements will provide enough essential nutrients for the baby to help the baby grow and develop well.

The baby will show signs of hunger or fullness using sound and movement. Crying is often a late sign of hunger. To understand the signs of the child is important because it makes it possible for the mother to know how often the baby eats. Here are some signs that babies manifest when full and hungry (for babies up to 6 months):

• Signs of breastfeeding or hungry babies are usually: Put your hands on your mouth, turn your head toward your mother or mother's breast, grimace, copy your lips or lick everything, hold hands tightly …
• When the baby is full: The baby will stop the meal himself, turn away from the mother's side or her nipples, her hands begin to relax.

For babies from 6 to 24 months:

• If your baby is hungry: Put or point to food, open your mouth when fed, get irritated when you see food, use hand movement, or make sounds.
• Babies with full stomachs will push food away from them, do not open their mouths when fed, turn away from food.

Let the baby decide for himself how much to eat according to his needs. Do not force or pressure your baby to eat. In case, worrying about the baby eating less can see a doctor for advice and find the optimal solution.

Share99 International Health Hub is a hospital with the function of examining, consulting and treating, preventing many diseases in both children and adults and the elderly. With modern technical facilities, a team of specialized doctors and perfect medical services will bring satisfaction to customers.

Customers can directly go to Share99 Health System nationwide for examination or contact the hotline here for assistance.

Source: cdc.gov, who.int