Human milk provides the best nutrition for most babies and breastfeeding provides the best nutrition for infants and very young children, according to an updated position paper from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The paper also outlines the health risks of not breastfeeding, which include increased rates of infant and maternal morbidity and mortality, increased health care costs and significant economic losses to families and employers. The position paper “Promoting and Supporting Breastfeeding,” published in the March Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, states: It is the position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics that exclusive breastfeeding provides optimal nutrition and health protection for the first 6 months of life and that breastfeeding with complementary foods from six months until at least 12 months of age is the ideal feeding pattern for infants. Breastfeeding is an important public health strategy for improving infant and child morbidity and mortality, improving maternal morbidity and helping to control health care costs.

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