Experts talk about "scientific feeding" for infants and young children: correct breastfeeding and reasonable addition of nutritional supplements

Nutritional issues in infant development and growth have always attracted the attention of countless parents. Good nutrition is related to the health of children throughout their lives. So, how can parents achieve "scientific feeding"? Recently, Wang Danhua, chief physician of the Department of Pediatrics at the Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Zhang Yue, deputy director of the Child Health Department of the Maternal and Child Health Center of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and Ma Yang, deputy director of the Child Health Center of Beijing Children's Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University, discussed hot issues of breastfeeding and infant nutrition, guiding parents and the public to establish scientific parenting concepts and popularize knowledge on breastfeeding and infant nutrition and health.

What are the precautions for breastfeeding infants and young children aged 0-6 months?

Breast milk is the best gift a mother can give to her newborn baby. Wang Danhua, chief physician of the Department of Pediatrics at the Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, advocates that infants aged 0-6 months should be exclusively breastfed. The nutrients contained in breast milk have the best bioavailability and can meet all the needs of infant growth and development within 6 months. In addition, breast milk is rich in immune active substances, which can enhance and regulate the baby's immune ability and reduce the risk of infectious diseases. At the same time, breastfeeding can enhance parent-child relationships and promote the development of the child's nervous system.

So, how can mothers start breastfeeding smoothly? Wang Danhua introduced that it is necessary to achieve "three earlys": early contact, early sucking, and early milk production. After the newborn is born and thoroughly dried, it should be immediately in skin contact with the mother. Through skin contact, the newborn's milk-seeking reflex can be stimulated, allowing the child to suck early. Early sucking can stimulate the mother's secretion of prolactin and achieve early milk production. Breastfeeding on demand is another principle of breastfeeding. The baby should be fed when he is hungry and the mother's milk is full, without limiting the number and time.

Some new mothers are always worried that their milk supply is not enough for their baby. How can they judge whether the mother's milk supply is enough for the baby?

Wang Danhua introduced that there are two criteria for judgment: one is to look at the baby's weight, and the other is to look at the baby's urine output. If the weight loss of the newborn does not exceed 7% of the birth weight, and the weight gain of the child does not reach 1.5 pounds (750 grams) per month in the first three months after the mother's milk production, no intervention is required. In addition, in terms of urine output, after the mother's milk production, the child should urinate more than 6 times a day.

How to ensure sufficient milk production? Wang Danhua said that the most important thing is to ensure frequent sucking, continuous skin contact, and 24-hour mother-baby co-rooming. More skin contact can ensure the secretion of prolactin by the mother. Nighttime is the peak of prolactin secretion by the mother, and breastfeeding is necessary at night to maintain milk production. At the same time, attention should be paid to the baby's correct latching to avoid pain for the mother. In addition, the mother should empty her breasts after each feeding to stimulate lactation.

How to correctly add complementary foods to infants and young children aged 6 months to 1 year old?

When is the best time to add complementary food to babies? Ma Yang from the Children's Health Center of Beijing Children's Hospital said that after 6 months of age, the nutrition obtained by babies from breast milk can no longer fully meet the growth and development needs of children, and there will be gaps in nutrients such as energy, protein, lipids, iron, and zinc. These gaps need to be supplemented by adding complementary foods in a timely and reasonable manner.

Since different foods contain different nutrients, a variety of complementary foods should be added to babies. Complementary foods are roughly divided into seven categories, including cereals and potatoes, beans and nuts, meat (fish, poultry, meat and offal), eggs, fruits and vegetables rich in vitamin A (dark vegetables), other fruits and vegetables, milk and dairy products.

At least 4 kinds of complementary foods should be added every day, and at least 3 types of food should be included, one is meat, the other is vegetables and cereals (carbohydrates).

It is particularly important to note that infants and young children between 6 months and 2 years old are prone to iron deficiency anemia, so it is necessary to promptly supplement children with complementary foods rich in iron and with a relatively high iron absorption rate, mainly including meat, animal liver, animal blood, etc.

How to cultivate good eating habits for children? How to add nutritional supplements?

At present, there are still many families with bad eating habits such as parents chasing their children to feed them and not letting them eat without feeding. At this time, it is very important to cultivate good eating habits for children.

Zhang Yue, deputy director of the Children's Health Department of the Maternal and Child Health Center of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said that the diet of infants and young children is a process of gradual transition from breastfeeding to feeding and then to independent eating. For children around one year old, they can be encouraged to practice eating by themselves. After the age of two, parents can ask their children to eat independently.

When cultivating good eating habits for children, we should pay attention to timing, fixed location and appropriate amount. Timing means that the meal time is fixed every day, which lasts about 20-30 minutes. Fixed location means that the child has a fixed place to eat. Appropriate amount means that you should pay attention to the child and provide food according to his reaction.

Regarding the issue of additional nutritional supplements, Wang Danhua introduced that newborns should be injected with vitamin K immediately after birth to prevent neonatal hemorrhage. Secondly, all newborns should start to supplement vitamin D a few days after birth, with a supplement amount of 400-800 international units. Regarding calcium supplementation, for babies under 6 months old, the calcium in milk can meet the child's growth and development needs, and no additional supplementation is needed. For some premature babies, especially some premature babies with extremely low birth weight, additional calcium, phosphorus preparations, and vitamin A should be supplemented under the guidance of a doctor. At the same time, premature babies have much lower iron reserves than normal full-term babies, which is more likely to cause iron deficiency anemia. Regular iron supplementation is very important. (Reporter Zhang Wenting, intern Han Xirui)