Wellness Topics for Infants 0 to 2 Years

Feeding Your Newborn

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How you feed your newborn is the first nutrition decision you will make for your child. These guidelines on breastfeeding and bottle feeding can help you make the decision that's right for you and your baby.

Breast or Bottle?

Medical experts say breastfeeding is best for newborns. Specifically, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that babies be breastfed exclusively for about the first 6 months. Following the introduction of solid foods, breastfeeding should continue through the first year of life and even beyond, if desired.

But breastfeeding might not be possible or preferable for all new moms. Deciding to breastfeed or bottle feed a baby is usually based on the mother's comfort level with breastfeeding as well as her lifestyle. In some cases, breastfeeding may not be recommended for a mom and her baby. If you have any questions about whether to breastfeed or formula feed, talk to your pediatrician.


About Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding your newborn has many advantages. Perhaps most important, breast milk is the perfect food for a human baby's digestive system. It has the nutrients that a newborn needs, and all of its components — lactose, protein (whey and casein), and fat — are easily digested. Commercial formulas try to imitate breast milk, and come close, but cannot match its exact composition.

Also, breast milk contains antibodies that help protect babies from a wide variety of infectious illnesses, including diarrhea and respiratory infections. Studies suggest that breastfed babies are less likely to develop certain medical problems, including diabetes, high cholesterol, asthma, and allergies. Breastfeeding also may decrease the chances that a child will become overweight or obese.

Breastfeeding is great for moms, too. It burns calories and helps shrink the uterus, so nursing moms get back in shape quicker. Breastfeeding also may protect mom from breast and ovarian cancer.



Limitations of Breastfeeding


Breastfeeding requires a big commitment from a mother. Some new moms feel tied down by the demands of a nursing newborn. Since breast milk is easily digested, breastfed babies tend to eat more often than babies who are fed formula. This means mom may find herself in demand as often as every 2 or 3 hours in the first few weeks. This can be tiring, but it's not long before babies feed less frequently and sleep longer at night.




Sometimes a woman may feel embarrassed or apprehensive about the prospect of breastfeeding. These feelings usually disappear once a successful breastfeeding process is set. It's often helpful to seek advice from those who've gone through the experience. Most hospitals and birthing centers can provide in-depth instruction on breastfeeding techniques to new mothers.



If you have a medical condition or take any medicines regularly, or if you or your baby gets sick, talk with your doctor about whether it's OK to breastfeed. If you have to stop nursing temporarily, it's important to continue to pump breast milk to maintain milk production.

In some situations, it may not possible to breastfeed, such as when a baby is sick or born prematurely. Mothers should talk with their baby's doctor about expressing and storing milk. Even if the infant cannot breastfeed, breast milk may be given via a feeding tube or bottle.


Avoid using pacifiers or bottles until breastfeeding is established, usually after the first month of life. Introducing them before breastfeeding is known to cause "nipple confusion," and can lead to an infant giving up the breast.

About Formula Feeding

Commercially prepared infant formula is a nutritious alternative to breast milk. Bottle feeding can offer more freedom and flexibility for moms, and it makes it easier to know how much the baby is getting.

Because babies digest formula more slowly than breast milk, a baby who is getting formula may need fewer feedings than one who breastfeeds. Formula feeding also can make it easier to feed the baby in public, and allows the father and other family members to help feed the baby, which can enhance bonding.

Limitations of Formula Feeding



Here are a few key guidelines for formula feeding:

  • A bottle of formula can be warmed by holding it in running warm water or setting it in a pan of warm water. A bottle of formula (or breast milk) should never be warmed in a microwave. The bottle can heat unevenly and leave "hot spots" that can burn a baby's mouth.

Is My Newborn Getting Enough to Eat?

Your newborn will nurse about 8 to 12 times per day during the first weeks of life. In the beginning, mothers may want to try nursing 10-15 minutes on each breast, then adjust the time as necessary.

Breastfeeding should be "on demand" (when your baby is hungry), which is generally every 1-3 hours. As newborns get older, they'll nurse less often and have longer stretches between feedings. Newborn babies who are getting formula will likely take about 2-3 ounces every 2-4 hours. Newborns should not go more than about 4 to 5 hours without feeding.


  • moving their heads from side to side
  • opening their mouths
  • sticking out their tongues
  • placing their hands and fists to their mouths
  • puckering their lips as if to suck
  • nuzzling again their mothers' breasts


As babies grow, they begin to eat more at each feeding and can go longer between feedings. There may be other times when your infant seems hungrier than usual. Continue to nurse or feed on demand. Nursing mothers need not worry — breastfeeding stimulates milk production and your supply of breast milk will adjust to your baby's demand for it.

New mothers are often concerned that their babies may not be getting enough to eat. It's important for all infants to be seen by their pediatrician within 3 to 5 days after birth and within 48 to 72 hours after a mother and newborn leave the hospital. During this visit, the baby will be weighed and examined, and feeding questions and concerns can be addressed.



Nutritional Supplements

Breast milk contains the right combination of vitamins and easily absorbed iron that will be sufficient until your baby begins eating iron-rich foods around 6 months of age.


The AAP recommends that all breastfed babies begin receiving vitamin D supplements within the first few days of life, continuing until they get enough vitamin D-fortified formula or milk (after 1 year of age).

Iron-fortified formula contains the right blend of vitamins and minerals for a baby, so supplements are usually not necessary. Infants drinking less than 1 liter, or about a quart, of formula a day may need additional vitamin D supplementation.

Water, juice, and other foods usually aren't necessary during a baby's first 6 months. Breast milk or formula provides everything babies need nutritionally until they start eating solid foods. Talk to your doctor if you have any questions about feeding your newborn.

Reviewed by: Mary L. Gavin, MD
Date reviewed: September 2014

Kids Health

