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Duration of exclusive breast-feeding: introduction of complementary feeding may be necessary before 6 months of age

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 March 2007

John J. Reilly  and
Jonathan C. K. Wells
John J. Reilly*
Affiliation:
Division of Developmental Medicine, University of Glasgow, Yorkhill Hospitals, Glasgow G3 8SJ, UK
Jonathan C. K. Wells
Affiliation:
MRC Childhood Nutrition Research Centre, Institute of Child Health, University College London, 30 Guilford Street, London WC1N 1EH, UK
*
*Corresponding author: Dr John J. Reilly, fax +44 141 201 9275, email jjr2y@clinmed.gla.ac.uk
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Abstract

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The WHO recommends exclusive breast-feeding for the first 6 months of life. At present, <2 % of mothers who breast-feed in the UK do so exclusively for 6 months. We propose the testable hypothesis that this is because many mothers do not provide sufficient breast milk to feed a 6-month-old baby adequately. We review recent evidence on energy requirements during infancy, and energy transfer from mother to baby, and consider the adequacy of exclusive breast-feeding to age 6 months for mothers and babies in the developed world. Evidence from our recent systematic review suggests that mean metabolisable energy intake in exclusively breast-fed infants at 6 months is 2·2–2·4 MJ/d (525–574 kcal/d), and mean energy requirement approximately 2·6–2·7 MJ/d (632–649 kcal/d), leading to a gap between the energy provided by milk and energy needs by 6 months for many babies. Our hypothesis is consistent with other evidence, and with evolutionary considerations, and we briefly review this other evidence. The hypothesis would be testable in a longitudinal study of infant energy balance using stable-isotope techniques, which are both practical and valid.

Keywords

Infant nutritionLactationEnergy metabolism
Type
Horizons in Nutritional Science
Information
British Journal of Nutrition , Volume 94 , Issue 6 , December 2005 , pp. 869 - 872
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 2005

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