Revised Recommendations for Breastfed Infants - Health Canada 2004

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(186K)

ISBN: 0-662-37813-X
Cat. No.: H44-75/2004E-HTML
HC Pub. No.: 4823
© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada 2004

Health Canada promotes breastfeeding as the best method of feeding infants as it provides optimal nutritional, immunological and emotional benefits for the growth and development of infants. The following two recommendations update recommendations one and ten found in the 1998 document Nutrition for Healthy Term Infants.

Duration of Exclusive Breastfeeding

Exclusive breastfeeding¹ is recommended for the first six months of life for healthy term infants, as breast milk is the best food for optimal growth. Infants should be introduced to nutrient-rich, solid foods with particular attention to iron at six months with continued breastfeeding for up to two years and beyond.

¹ Exclusive breastfeeding, based on the WHO definition,refers to the practice of feeding only breast milk(including expressed breast milk) and allows the baby to receive vitamins, minerals or medicine. Water, breast milk substitutes, other liquids and solid foods are excluded.

Vitamin D Supplementation for Breastfed Infants

It is recommended that all breastfed, healthy term infants inCanada receive a daily vitamin D supplement of 10 µg (400 IU).

Supplementation should begin at birth and continue until the infant's diet includes at least 10 µg (400 IU) per day of vitamin D from other dietary sources or until the breastfed infant reaches one year of age.

The complete recommendations with background, rationale and references, along with questions and answers for health professionals can be found at:

http://www.healthcanada.ca/nutrition