Exclusive Breastfeeding

Exclusive breastfeeding means feeding an infant only breast milk, with no other food or drink, not even water. It includes breast milk given directly or expressed, and permits oral rehydration solution and drops or syrups containing vitamins, minerals or medicines. It is recommended for the first six months of life.

What exclusivity includes and excludes

The defining feature is what the infant receives, not whether feeding occurs directly at the breast. Giving expressed breast milk therefore remains compatible with exclusive breastfeeding.

• Giving water, animal milk, infant formula, juice or solid food means that feeding is no longer exclusive breastfeeding.
• Oral rehydration solution and prescribed medicinal or nutrient drops are permitted exceptions; exclusivity must not prevent necessary treatment.
• Breast milk supplies the water a healthy infant needs during the first six months, including in hot weather.
• Honey, sugar water and other feeds given before breastfeeding is established should be avoided.

Place in infant and young child feeding

Exclusive breastfeeding is one stage in a feeding continuum. It must be distinguished from early initiation of breastfeeding and from continued breastfeeding alongside complementary foods.

• Breastfeeding should begin within one hour of birth.
• Colostrum, the first milk produced after childbirth, is rich in protective antibodies and should be fed to the newborn rather than discarded.
• At six completed months, safe and nutritionally adequate complementary foods should be introduced because breast milk alone no longer meets all nutritional requirements.
• Breastfeeding should continue with complementary feeding until two years of age or beyond.
• Complementary foods supplement breast milk; their introduction does not mean that breastfeeding should stop.

Health importance and practical support

Breast milk provides nutrients and protective factors that support infant growth and immunity. Exclusive breastfeeding reduces exposure to pathogens that may enter through contaminated water, other feeds or feeding equipment.

• Breastfeeding helps protect infants against diarrhoeal and respiratory infections.
• Effective support includes counselling on positioning and attachment, help with feeding difficulties, and reassurance about feeding according to the infant's needs.
• Family support, maternity protection and opportunities to express and safely store milk help mothers sustain breastfeeding.
• Health services should provide skilled, non-judgmental assistance rather than treat breastfeeding solely as an individual maternal responsibility.