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Cant remember if you registered*Information for Healthcare Professionals only. Breastfeeding is best for babies.
*Information for Healthcare Professionals only. Breastfeeding is best for babies.
Information for Healthcare Professionals only.
Important notice: We believe that breastfeeding is the ideal nutritional start for babies and we fully support the World Health Organisation’s recommendation of exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life followed by the introduction of adequate nutritious complementary foods along with continued breastfeeding up to two years of age. We also recognise that breastfeeding is not always an option for parents. We recommend healthcare professionals to inform parents about the advantages of breastfeeding. If parents consider not to breastfeed, healthcare professionals should inform parents that such a decision can be difficult to reverse and that the introduction of partial bottle-feeding will reduce the supply of breast milk. Parents should consider the social and financial implications of the use of infant formula. As babies grow at different rates, healthcare professionals should advise on the appropriate time for a baby to begin eating complementary foods. Infant formula and complementary foods should always be prepared, used and stored as instructed on the label in order to avoid risks to a baby’s health.
The weaning moment: What's next for toddlers?
At one year of age, which is still considered part of the weaning period (6 to 23 months of age) children are still at high risk of malnutrition - both over and undernutrition but also micronutrient deficiencies.3,4 In the developing world, growth faltering and the risk of malnutrition in children 6 to 23 months of age, can be attributed to non-continued breastfeeding, poor complementary feeding practices and other risk factors, including diarrhoea.3,4 Poor weaning practices have been shown to be one of the factors contributing to micronutrient deficiencies in South African children.5