Infant formula, baby formula, or simply formula ; or baby milk or infant milk, is a manufactured food designed and marketed for feeding to babies and infants under 12 months of age, usually prepared for bottle-feeding or cup-feeding from powder or liquid. The U.S. Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) defines infant formula as "a food which purports to be or is represented for special dietary use solely as a food for infants by reason of its simulation of human milk or its suitability as a complete or partial substitute for human milk".
A baby bottle, nursing bottle, or feeding bottle is a bottle with a teat attached to it, which creates the ability to drink via suckling. It is typically used by infants and young children, or if someone cannot drink from a cup, for feeding oneself or being fed. It can also be used to feed non-human mammals.
A breast pump is a mechanical device that lactating women use to extract milk from their breasts. They may be manual devices powered by hand or foot movements or automatic devices powered by electricity.
A wet nurse is a woman who breastfeeds and cares for another's child. Wet nurses are employed if the mother dies, or if she is unable or chooses not to nurse the child herself. Wet-nursed children may be known as "milk-siblings", and in some cultures, the families are linked by a special relationship of milk kinship. Wet-nursing existed in cultures around the world until the invention of reliable formula milk in the 20th century. The practice has made a small comeback in the 21st century.
Breast milk or mother's milk is milk produced by mammary glands located in the breast of a human female. Breast milk is the primary source of nutrition for newborns, containing fat, protein, carbohydrates and variable minerals and vitamins. Breast milk also contains substances that help protect an infant against infection and inflammation, whilst also contributing to healthy development of the immune system and gut microbiome.
A boycott was launched in the United States on July 4, 1977, against the Swiss-based multinational food and drink processing corporation Nestlé. The boycott expanded into Europe in the early 1980s and was prompted by concerns about Nestlé's "aggressive marketing" of infant formulas, particularly in underdeveloped countries. The boycott has been cancelled and renewed because of the business practices of Nestlé and other substitute manufacturers monitored by the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN). Organizers of the boycott as well as public health researchers and experts consider breast milk to be the best nutrition source for infants. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends infants to be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of their lives, nevertheless, sometimes nutritional gaps need to be filled if breastfeeding is unsuitable, not possible, or inadequate.
La Leche League International (LLLI) is a non-governmental, nonprofit organization that organizes advocacy, education, and training related to breastfeeding. It is present in about 89 countries.
A supplemental nursing system (SNS), also known as a lactation aid, is a device that consists of a container and a capillary tube. It is used to provide additional nutrients to a baby whose mother has low milk supply. During breastfeeding, the end of the tube is placed alongside the mother's nipple so that both the tube and the breast are in the infant's mouth.
Lactational amenorrhea, also called postpartum infertility, is the temporary postnatal infertility that occurs when a woman is amenorrheic and fully breastfeeding.
Erotic lactation is sexual arousal by breastfeeding on a woman's breast. Depending on the context, the practice can also be referred to as adult suckling, adult nursing, and adult breastfeeding. Practitioners sometimes refer to themselves as being in an adult nursing relationship (ANR). Two persons in an exclusive relationship can be called a nursing couple.
The history and culture of breastfeeding traces changing social, medical and legal attitudes to breastfeeding, the act of feeding a child breast milk directly from breast to mouth. Breastfeeding may be performed by the infant's mother or by a surrogate, typically called a wet nurse.
Lactivism is the doctrine or practice of vigorous action or involvement as a means of achieving a breastfeeding culture, sometimes by demonstrations, protests, etc. of breastfeeding. Supporters, referred to as "lactivists", seek to protest the violation of International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes by formula companies and industry. Lactivism is a subject that has conjured both negative and positive connotation across the Western world since the term rose in popularity around 2015. The controversial conversation of Lactivism has been noted to be influenced by personal identity, contradictive research, large corporations and political agendas. Breastfeeding being a personal decision, challenges arise with the abundance of voices weighing in in support and discouragement of lactivism. The preached beliefs about whether a mother should breastfeed span from condemning mothers who do not, implying or outright saying they are physically harming their babies, to the opposite end of the spectrum claiming breastmilk and breast feeding have no benefits whatsoever. Amidst the conversation of lactivism there’s a failure to address or reference anyone, cultures, or countries outside of the Western world. By omitting other approach’s, societal norms and reactions to lactivism it creates a narrow focus and excludes many breastfeeding and non-breastfeeding mothers.
Breastfeeding, or nursing, is the process by which human breast milk is fed to a child. Breast milk may be from the breast, or may be expressed by hand or pumped and fed to the infant. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that breastfeeding begin within the first hour of a baby's life and continue as often and as much as the baby wants. Health organizations, including the WHO, recommend breastfeeding exclusively for six months. This means that no other foods or drinks, other than vitamin D, are typically given. WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of life, followed by continued breastfeeding with appropriate complementary foods for up to 2 years and beyond. Of the 135 million babies born every year, only 42% are breastfed within the first hour of life, only 38% of mothers practice exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months, and 58% of mothers continue breastfeeding up to the age of two years and beyond.
The social attitudes toward and legal status of breastfeeding in public vary widely in cultures around the world. In many countries, both in the Global South and in a number of Western countries, breastfeeding babies in open view of the general public is common and generally not regarded as an issue. In many parts of the world including Australia, some parts of the United States and Europe, along with some countries in Asia, women have an explicit legal right to nurse in public and in the workplace.
Breastfeeding promotion refers to coordinated activities and policies to promote health among women, newborns and infants through breastfeeding.
Human to animal breastfeeding has been practiced in some different cultures during various time periods. The practice of breastfeeding or suckling between humans and other species occurred in both directions: women sometimes breastfed young animals, and animals were used to suckle babies and children. Animals were used as substitute wet nurses for infants, particularly after the rise of syphilis increased the health risks of wet nursing. Goats and donkeys were widely used to feed abandoned babies in foundling hospitals in 18th- and 19th-century Europe. Breastfeeding animals has also been practised, whether for perceived health reasons – such as to toughen the nipples and improve the flow of milk – or for religious and cultural purposes. A wide variety of animals have been used for this purpose, including puppies, kittens, piglets and monkeys.
Infant feeding is the practice of feeding infants. Breast milk provides the best nutrition when compared to infant formula. Infants are usually introduced to solid foods at around four to six months of age.
Breastfeeding by HIV-infected mothers is the practice of breastfeeding of HIV-infected mothers and include those who may want to or are currently breastfeeding. HIV can be transmitted to the infant through breastfeeding. The risk of transmission varies and depends on the viral load in the mother's milk. An infant can be infected with HIV throughout the duration of the pregnancy or during childbirth (intrapartum).
Cracked nipple is a condition that can occur in breastfeeding women as a result of a number of possible causes. Developing a cracked nipple can result in soreness, dryness or irritation to, or bleeding of, one or both nipples during breastfeeding. The mother with a cracked nipple can have severe nipple pain when the baby is nursing. This severe pain is a disincentive for continued breastfeeding. The crack can appear as a cut across the tip of the nipple and may extend to its base. Cracked nipple can develop after the birth of the infant and is managed with pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatment.
In breastfeeding women, low milk supply, also known as lactation insufficiency, insufficient milk syndrome, agalactia, agalactorrhea, hypogalactia or hypogalactorrhea, is the production of breast milk in daily volumes that do not fully meet the nutritional needs of her infant.
