Which milk is best?
Health professionals over the world recommend that babies be fed breast milk exclusively for the first six months of life. The Canadian Paediatric Society, Dieticians of Canada, and Health Canada all echo this recommendation. Once babies have started eating solid foods, it is recommended that they continue breastfeeding until the age of two years or more.
In Québec, 9 out of 10 mothers breastfeed their newborn at birth, and about 3 out of 10 mothers continue for up to 6 months or more. You can decide to breastfeed for a few days, a few months, or over a year. It’s up to you.
Some families find that breastfeeding doesn’t work for them, despite the benefits. Others find that breastfeeding is not what they’d expected or hoped and decide to give their babies commercial infant formula.
It is recommended that babies who are not fed breast milk be given cow’s milk that has been processed and adapted into commercial infant formula.
The baby formula industry processes cow’s milk to make its nutritional content closer to that of mother’s milk. But commercial infant formulas still can’t match mother’s milk. They don’t contain the same proteins, they don’t supply antibodies, and they don’t provide immune factors, growth hormones or white blood cells (see The composition of human milk). Babies who aren’t fed with breast milk have a higher risk of ear infections, gastroenteritis, bronchiolitis, pneumonia and other problems.
For babies who are not fed breast milk, the Canadian Paediatric Society, Dietitians of Canada and Health Canada all recommend using an infant formula enriched with iron up to the age of 9 to 12 months. Cow’s milk is completely inappropriate for babies under 9 months.
However you feed your baby, your baby needs you, your attention and your love. You can fulfill their need for warmth, security and affection by holding them in your arms when you feed them and maximizing skin-to-skin contact, particularly in their first few weeks. You can also massage your baby, take a bath with them and use a baby carrier to help you “stay in touch.”
Social pressure
In Québec, the way babies are fed has changed a great deal over the past two generations. People around you will have made similar or very different choices to your own. They will regularly give you tips, information and advice. Some will be in favour of breastfeeding, others not. Some will say you should introduce other foods very early; others will tell you to wait.
As a parent, you may end up feeling pressure to do things a certain way. Just remember that there is no single recipe for how to feed and take care of your baby. As the days go by, you will find what works best for your baby and you.