ABSTRACT
Exclusive breastfeeding from birth is possible except for a few medical conditions, and unrestricted exclusive breastfeeding results in ample milk production. (WHO 2003)
Infant formula is the only nutritionally adequate alternative to breast milk during the first 6 months for term infants. Even though it does not provide immunity to protect infants from illness, it has become the more socially acceptable way to feed infants, and by 6 weeks more than half of UK infants are being fed formula milk, resulting in higher hospital admission rates of infants (Bolling et al. 2007). It has been estimated that if all UK infants were exclusively breastfed, the number hospitalized each month with diarrhoea would be halved, and the number hospitalized with a respiratory infection would be cut by a quarter (Quigley et al. 2007).
