Over the past few decades, there has been growing evidence of the health benefits of breastfeeding for mothers and infants. Currently, the prevailing worldwide belief on breastfeeding is that exclusive breastfeeding is recommended for the first 6 months of life, followed by continuous breastfeeding with appropriate complementary foods until 2 years of age or longer. This is the most basic and principled recommendation in the breastfeeding philosophy. For exclusive breastfeeding until 6 months of age, it means that no complementary food or even water is recommended in addition to breast milk, while for infants and toddlers from 6 months to 2 years of age, continued breastfeeding should be accompanied by the addition of appropriate complementary foods at the right time. On the occasion of the 14th World Breastfeeding Week (August 1-7 every year), let’s discuss what are the benefits of breastfeeding and what issues should be noted in feeding infants and toddlers from 0 to 2 years old. What are the benefits of breastfeeding? 1, no milk substitute is more suitable for infants than breast milk Breastfeeding is irreplaceable for promoting maternal and infant health, infant nutrition, immunity, development, psychology and other aspects of other milk substitutes. Any nutrition expert, it is impossible to create a milk substitute more suitable for the needs of newborns than breast milk. The advantages of breastfeeding are mainly expressed in the following aspects. 2, beneficial to infant brain development The high content of DHA in breast milk is very beneficial to the development of the brain nerves of infants and children. At the same time, this beneficial effect on the infant’s sensory and cognitive ability to help a lot. 3, reduce the incidence of some diseases Breast milk contains immune substances, which can enhance the infant’s body and improve resistance. Breastfeeding can make newborns have the ability to prevent infection for a period of time after birth. In addition, some studies show that breastfed babies have a much lower chance of developing type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, adolescent obesity, adult obesity, autoimmune diseases, allergic diseases such as atopic eczema, etc. than artificially fed children. 4, conducive to the establishment of intestinal probiotic flora Breast milk contains probiotics and prebiotics, which are passed to babies through breast milk, especially in colostrum, which is very helpful for the establishment of probiotic flora in the baby’s intestines. At the same time, the antibacterial substances contained in breast milk, low protein, high whey protein and phosphorus content can promote the growth of probiotics. 5, good for the mother’s health Breastfeeding is equally good for the mother’s health, because the baby’s sucking on the breast can reflexively promote the secretion of oxytocin and promote the recovery of the mother’s uterus; breastfeeding may also reduce the chances of women suffering from breast cancer, uterine fibroids and other gynecological diseases. Tip: Although breast milk is good, there are still situations where breastfeeding is not appropriate. Newborns need to be fed properly as soon as they are born, and breast milk is the most natural nutrient that can meet the needs of infants’ growth and development. However, even so, breastfeeding is not suitable or temporarily contraindicated in the following cases: ① suspected or clearly diagnosed genetic metabolic disease, such as galactosemia; ② mother has active tuberculosis, human immunodeficiency virus, cytomegalovirus infection; ③ mother is receiving isotope radiation therapy; ④ mother is receiving antimetabolites and other chemotherapeutic drugs, or receiving other drugs that can be secreted through breast milk (5) the mother is using drugs or alcohol; (6) the mother has herpes simplex virus infection in the breast (the other uninfected breast can continue to feed). It should be noted that the mother hepatitis virus carrier is not a contraindication to breastfeeding, artificial feeding is possible in the acute phase, and breastfeeding is possible after normal liver function in mothers with major and minor triplets and active and passive immunization of the baby. Correcting misconceptions about breastfeeding for 0-6 months old infants Idea 1: Skepticism about the concept of “exclusive breastfeeding” before 6 months of age For infant feeding, the World Health Organization recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months after birth. Many people have raised the following questions about this recommendation: Is it bad for the health of infants if they are not given water even when it is hot? Wouldn’t it be harmful to add complementary foods to the child? It is clear that exclusively breastfed children do not need to add any supplemental food or hydration until 6 months of age, even when it is hot. The reasons are as follows. To clarify what “exclusive breastfeeding” is when the child is fed only breast milk without any additional food or liquid, even water, is considered to be exclusive breastfeeding. The exceptions are oral rehydration salts, vitamins, minerals or medication drops and syrups. Why is exclusive breastfeeding recommended for infants from 0 to 6 months of age? First, breast milk is the perfect food for infants until they are half a year old. For healthy, full-term infants, the addition of nutrients is usually unnecessary, and breast milk supplies all the nutrients that infants need. Second, because an infant’s digestive system is not yet able to accept foods other than breast milk, giving complementary foods too early can easily cause allergic reactions. In addition, when infants start to eat other foods, they will suckle less on breast milk, which will reduce milk production. Possible negative consequences of feeding water Feeding water to infants puts them at risk for diarrhea and malnutrition. Because the water may not be clean enough, the infant may develop an infection. Feeding water may also cause infants to drink less breast milk, leading to malnutrition. Breastmilk provides a “safe water” to meet the infant’s needs. >80% of breastmilk is water, especially the milk that comes out first at each feeding. Therefore, breastfeeding can be done whenever the family thinks the baby is thirsty. Breastfeeding gives the baby all the “safe water” he or she needs and protects the baby from diarrhea. The idea 2: colostrum is not nutritious enough, abandoned After childbirth, the mother’s initial secretion of milk called colostrum. In some places, influenced by old customs, the small amount of yellowish gray milk secreted in the first few days after childbirth is considered lacking in nutrition and unclean, and is mostly squeezed out and thrown away, which is not scientific. Some scholars have analyzed the nutritional composition of colostrum from 1 to 16 d after delivery, and the results show that colostrum has a high content of immunoglobulins and also contains a large number of immune substances that are missing in the body of newborns, such as neutrophils, macrophages and lymphocytes, which can increase the immunity of babies. Therefore, colostrum is “immune gold” and should not be easily discarded. At the same time, due to the influence of this concept, some mothers delay the time to breastfeed their newborns, the World Health Organization recommends that breastfeeding begins within the first hour of life. Idea 3: Before opening the milk, feed the newborn with Huang Lian water, etc. In some areas, especially in the rural areas of southern Fujian, the newborn is fed with Huang Lian water, bear bile or snake bile water before starting breastfeeding, which is considered to be conducive to the excretion of meconium and detoxification. In fact, this is not only not good for the newborn, but also harmful, as it will interfere with the baby’s sucking action and affect the newborn’s appetite. Adding complementary foods for infants 6 months to 2 years old The scientific method of adding complementary foods for infants 6 months to 2 years old or later requires the scientific addition of complementary foods along with continued breastfeeding. For infants <1 year old, breast milk is still the primary food that provides nutritional support. How to start complementary feeding? Infants are not in the mood to try new foods when they are extremely hungry, so for the first few weeks, it is best to feed them after they have finished breastfeeding, most appropriately from 9:00-10:00 and 15:00-16:00 a.m. When giving new foods to infants, start with one type of food at a time, 1/4 spoonful at a time, once or twice a day, gradually increasing the amount each time. After a week of feeding, try another new food. A brief description of the main complementary foods that can be added is as follows: 1. ripe bananas: they are the first nutritious food that infants like, they are more nutritious than shell foods, and they do not cause allergic reactions in comparison. If infants do not like bananas can be replaced by sweet potatoes or yams, these two foods are also very nutritious, pay attention to the best whole baked to preserve the nutrients. It should be noted that in the past, doctors have always recommended corn cereal as the first food for infants. This is because it is a common misconception that breastfed babies need additional iron or iron-fortified foods. In fact, although the iron in breast milk is not as much as other foods, but its iron is more easily absorbed. 2, meat and other protein foods: meat is rich in iron and protein, and can be given after the start of the food. Meat stews and ground beef, as well as pureed chicken, duck and goose in gravy or hot boiling water, are easy to eat. Consider using a churn, food processor or baby food grinder when giving meat to infants. If some infants initially do not like meat, mix a little in his familiar foods such as mashed bananas, mashed potatoes or avocados for him to try. 3. Whole-wheat bread: Be sure that the ingredients on the bread label do not include foods that the infant has not yet tried, such as eggs, milk, sugar, or other foods. When the infant has become accustomed to whole wheat bread, then the bread can be coated with nutritious peanut butter, cream and other foods. 4, fish: fish is another excellent protein. Its rich nutrition is absolutely suitable for infants. Be careful with fish spines when feeding. 5, fresh fruits and vegetables: such as raw peeled apples, can be spoon scraped into fine pieces grated for infants or cooked into unsweetened applesauce feeding. It should be noted that some fruits eaten too early can cause skin allergies, such as citrus, orange, lemon and so on, so infants less than 1 week old is best not to eat. Vegetables should be cooked, but even cooked vegetables are sometimes difficult for infants to digest, if you find undigested vegetables on the diaper, do not be alarmed, sometimes that is inevitable. 6, eggs and dairy products: eggs and milk are very easy to cause allergic reactions to food, it is recommended to wait until the baby is over 1 week old before eating.