Infant Feeding in Child Care

Families with a new baby face important and sometimes confusing choices about feeding their infant. When an infant is enrolled in child care, the situation is even more challenging. Questions to consider include: Should the infant breastfeed exclusively? When and how often should the baby also drink from a bottle? Should the family ever give formula? Should we feed on demand or on a schedule? When is it time to wean, or to introduce cereals, fruits and other solids?

Whatever a family’s choice, it is sure to impact not only the baby, but the mother, the family and the program staff too. Here’s a review of infant feeding choices with a summary of the considerations for each type and best practice recommendations for infant caregivers.

Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding offers many benefits to infants and mothers. Both the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) recommend that all babies be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life, with rare exceptions. After six months, breastfeeding should continue until at least age 1 year, with the gradual addition of complementary foods. Breastfeeding is still beneficial to mother and child after the first year, and should continue as long as mutually desired.

Benefits of breastfeeding. Breastfeeding is the natural way to feed a baby and offers many health advantages. The nutrients in breastmilk are easily digested and absorbed by most infants. Additionally, breastfed babies have lower rates of respiratory and intestinal infections during infancy, and also enjoy long-term positive effects such as decreased risk of diabetes, allergies and asthma later in childhood. Breastfeeding also offers health advantages to mothers. Some studies show that women who breastfeed have lower risk for ovarian, endometrial and breast cancer compared with the general population.

Considerations when breastfeeding. According to the AAP, breastfed infants need dietary supplementation of Vitamin D, and may need supplementation of iron, both of which are present in very low amounts in breastmilk. The need for supplementation and the dosage should be determined by the infant’s medical provider.

Who shouldn’t breastfeed? A woman should not breastfeed her infant under the following circumstances:

• She is infected with human immunodeficiency virus;
• She is being treated with radiation or chemotherapy for cancer;
• She is an abuser of alcohol or recreational drugs, which are passed to a baby in breastmilk.

Breastfeeding and child care. An infant who attends a child care program can still enjoy the benefits of breastmilk. With careful planning and support from her employer, family and child care staff, a mother can pump and store her milk for use during child care hours. For more information, including recommendations for storing and handling breastmilk in child care, refer to the CCHP document Health & Safety Note: Supporting Breastfeeding Families.

Infant formula

There are many types of infant formula available. Formula made from cow’s milk is the most common type. Soy formula is also popular and accounts for about 25 percent of all formula sales. In addition, formulas are available for infants with special dietary needs.