Since 2001 the World Health Organization (WHO) has been recommending exclusive breastfeeding of the baby during the first six months of life. Throughout these ten years, constant reviews have been made based on quality studies and there is no reason to stop making this recommendation, but instead there are investigations such as the one recently carried out in Glasgow, which reaffirms that Exclusive breastfeeding for six months is enough for the baby.
One of the main concerns of mothers, and reason for abandoning breastfeeding, is to believe that their milk is not enough food to meet the growth demands of the baby and therefore, they decide to introduce complementary diet before six months. However, it has been proven that breastfeeding alone provides the right nutrients and energy for proper development.
According to the study authors, published in the journal Pediatrics,
When the mother receives support and follows the WHO recommendations, the milk intakes are high, there is adequate calorie intake and normal growth. ”
The research was based on the follow-up of a group of 50 mothers participating in different breastfeeding groups in Scotland. Of these, 47 finished the study and 41 continued to feed their babies exclusively at six months. The rest, had decided to supplement the diet with porridge.
When crossing the data, they found no evidence to indicate that children who had only taken breast milk during their first six months of life had some type of nutritional deficiency. Nor did the mothers have to change their habits to feed the babies during that time, nor increase the number or time of the shots.
In addition to being nutritionally sufficient, drinking breast milk exclusively for six months reduces the risk of developing respiratory and gastrointestinal infections in the baby, among many other benefits.
The problem is that the breasts are not transparent and you can not see how much the baby takes, and that often worries. But if it grows properly (considering that the weight curves are not the same for breastfed children as for those fed with breast milk), and the mother receives the necessary support to achieve it, exclusive breastfeeding for six months is enough, besides being the best for the baby.
