As is well known, mother's milk is the best food for a baby, and exclusive breastfeeding is becoming increasingly popular. However, many mothers fall into another误区: only breastfeeding their baby and neglecting the necessary addition of complementary foods. It is understood that most mothers know very little about when to start adding complementary foods for their babies.
Professor Jiang Hong, director of the Department of Pediatrics at the First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, stated that the months after a baby's birth are a period of rapid growth, requiring sufficient, high-quality, and comprehensive nutrition.
From a nutritional perspective, breast milk is the best food for infants. It contains almost all the nutrients a newborn needs, and the quantities and proportions of these nutrients are fully adequate to completely meet the physiological needs of infants aged 4-6 months.
However, after four to five months, the baby's own digestive and absorption functions are gradually developing. As the baby's nutritional needs increase, the nutrients in breast milk can no longer fully meet their demands. Therefore, from this stage, complementary foods should be added to the baby's diet, especially the intake of trace elements such as iron and zinc, to ensure the baby's healthy growth. In China, it is generally recommended to start adding complementary foods after 4 months of exclusive breastfeeding, but it is advisable not to start later than 6 months.
Professor Jiang suggests that complementary foods can be introduced from one type to many, from small amounts to large amounts, from fine to coarse, and from thin to thick. It is best to start with grain-based foods, such as iron-fortified infant cereal, followed by vegetable purees, fruit purees, eggs, and meats. Furthermore, it is important to increase the baby's interest in eating. After the baby is accustomed to the taste of certain foods, the variety of foods should be changed in a timely manner according to nutritional needs to prevent the development of poor habits like picky eating or having a limited diet.