The first year of everyone’s life is a period of rapid growth. Your infant birth weight doubles after about five months and triples by the first birthday.
At the time of first birthday your infant length increases by half.
Meeting the infant nutritional needs is essential for the infants’ healthy growth and development.
Adequate and proper infant nutrition is essential at this period. If your infant does not receive sufficient calories, vitamins, and minerals he won’t reach your expected growth.
Infant nutrition is determined by rate of growth, size, activity and energy needed for metabolic activities. The calorie requirements per pound of body weight are greater during the first year of life than at any other time.
For the first six months of life breast or formula feeding can provide sufficient infant nutrition. By measuring weight and length and plotting it on a standardized growth grid, can helps you to determine how much infant nutrition can be required for their healthier growth.
The normal diet for infant nutrition consists of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates.
Proteins are the basic part of every cell. 50 percent of the protein intake can be used only for the growth of your infant in the first two months of the life. This percentage can be declined to 11 percent as your infant grows up to 2-3 years of age.
Fats provide 40-50 percent of the calories. Fats are the essential source of fatty acids. Carbohydrates, in which primarily lactose, are the main source of the dietary energy.
Breast milk from a well nourished mother will supply ample amounts of most vitamins and minerals. After that iron-fortified formula is your better choice and is the primary source of infant nutrition in the first year of life. Vitamin D is also essential for breastfed infants.
How Breastfeeding promotes healthier life for infant?
Breast milk is the nature’s perfect infant nutrition food. It provides many immune-related benefits. Breast milk offers all the nutrients like fats, proteins, carbohydrates, etc.
Breast milk contains antibodies which reduce the risk of infection for the newborn baby. Breastfed infants have a less risk of respiratory, gastrointestinal, and ear infections and they develop fewer allergies. Breastfeeding supports the mother-infant bond.
Proper infant nutrition for your baby also means feeding him or her the right food in the right quantities and at the right time. Don’t allow your infant to receive whole cow’s milk before one year of age. It causes iron deficiency in your infant.
Iron-fortified infant formula
It is the second best choice of infant nutrition. Infant formula provides complete nutrition. It supplies recommended levels of fats, vitamins, proteins, carbohydrates, and minerals needed for baby’s healthier growth and development.
You can choose infant formula from several types and forms. If your baby is allergic to infant formula then you can introduce soy based formula.
Standard infant formula comes in two forms, a low-iron and iron-fortified form. Iron-fortified formula is always suggested, except in very specific circumstances.
