Infant and Child Food Guideline

INFANT AND YOUNG CHILD
FEEDING (IYCF) GUIDELINES –

BREAST FEEDING, INFANT FOODS.
BY MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND

FAMILY WELFARE
CORRECT NORMS FOR INFANT AND
YOUNG CHILD FEEDING
• Initiation of breastfeeding immediately after birth, preferably within

one hour.
• Exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months i.e., the infants receives
only breast milk and nothing else, no other milk. Food, drink or water.
• Appropriate and adequate complementary feeding from six months of

age while continuing breastfeeding.
• Continued breastfeeding upto the age of two years or beyond.

NATIONAL GUIDELINES ON
INFANT AND YOUNG CHILD
FEEDING
(NGIYCF)
Optimal Infant and Young Child Feeding practices - especially early

initiation and exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life - help
ensure young children the best possible start to life.
THE OBJECTIVES OF THE NATIONAL GUIDELINES ON
INFANT AND YOUNG CHILD FEEDING ARE
• To advocate the cause of infant and young child nutrition deficiency and its improvement through
optimal feeding practices nationwide.
• To disseminate widely the correct norms of breastfeeding and complementary feeding from policy
making level to the public at large in different parts of the country in regional languages,
• To help plan efforts for raising awareness and increasing commitment of the concerned sectors of the
Government, national organizations and professional groups for achieving optimal feeding practices
for infants and young children,
• To achieve the national goals for Infant and Young Child Feeding practices set by the Planning
Commission for the Tenth Five Year Plan so as to achieve reduction in malnutrition levels in children.
APPROPRIATE INFANT AND YOUNG
CHILD FEEDING PRACTICES
Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding is the best way to satisfy the nutritional and psychological

needs of the baby. The exceptional nutritional quality of human milk has
been recognized for a long time. Mother’s milk is designed for easy
digestion and assimilation. Protein in mother’s milk is in a more soluble
form which is easily digested and absorbed by the baby
ADVANTAGES OF BREASTFEEDING
ARE:
• Breast milk is the best natural food for babies.
• Breast milk is always clean.
• Breast milk protects the baby from diseases.
• Breast milk makes the child more intelligent.
• Breast milk is available 24 hours a day and requires no special preparation.
• Breast milk is nature’s gift to the infant and does not need to be purchased.
• Breastfeeding makes a special relationship between mother and baby.
• Breastfeeding helps parents to space their children.
• Breastfeeding helps a mother to shed extra weight gained during pregnancy.

EARLY INITIATION OF
BREASTFEEDING
• Early initiation of breastfeeding is extremely important for establishing

successful lactation as well as for providing ‘Colostrum’ (mother’s first milk) to
the baby. Ideally, the baby should receive the first breastfeed as soon as possible
and preferably within one hour of birth.
• The new born baby is very active during the first half an hour and if the baby is
kept with the mother and effort is made to breastfeed, the infant learns sucking
very fast. This early suckling by the infant starts the process of milk formation
in the mother and helps in early secretion of breast milk.
VALUE OF COLOSTRUM
• The milk secreted after the child birth for the first few days is called ‘Colostrum’.
• It is yellowish in color and sticky. It is highly nutritious and contains anti-infective

substances. It is very rich in vitamin A. Colostrum has more protein, sometimes up to 10%.
It has less fat and the carbohydrate lactose than the mature milk.
• Colostrum is basically the first immunization a child receives from the mother. Some
mothers consider this first milk as something dirty and indigestible. Difference in
color and consistency could be possible reasons for such beliefs.
EXCLUSIVE BREASTFEEDING
• Exclusive breastfeeding means that babies are given only breast milk and
nothing else – no other milk, food, drinks and not ever water. During the first
six months exclusive breastfeeding should be practiced.
• Breast milk provides best and complete nourishment to the baby during the first
six months. The babies who are exclusively breastfed do not require anything
else namely additional food or fluid, herbal water, glucose water, fruit drinks or
water during the first six months. It must be remembered that benefits of
breastfeeding are reduced if it is not exclusive breastfeeding.
COMPLEMENTARY FEEDING
Importance of Complementary Feeding

FIRST FOOD FOR THE BABY
• The staple cereal of the family should be used to make the first food for an infant. The first
food (Porridge) can be made with suji (semolina), broken wheat, atta (wheat flour)
ground rice, ragi, millet etc, by using a little water or milk, if available.
• Roasted flour of any cereal can be mixed with boiled water, sugar and a little fat to
make the first complementary food for the baby and could be started on the day the child
becomes six months old.
• Adding sugar or jaggery and ghee or oil is important as it increases the energy value of
the food. In the beginning the porridge could be made a little thinner but as the child grows
older the consistency has to be thicker.
TRADITIONAL FOODS FOR INFANTS
• Once the child is eating the cereal porridge well, mixed foods including cooked
cereal, pulse and vegetable(s) could be given to the child.
• Most traditional foods given to infants in different parts of the country are
examples of mixed foods like khichidi, dalia, suji kheer, upma, idli, dokhla,
bhaat-bhaji etc.
• Sometimes traditional foods are given after a little modification so as to make

the food more suitable for the child.
MODIFIED FAMILY FOOD
• In most families there is a cereal preparation in the form of roti or rice and a
pulse or a vegetable preparation.
• For preparing a complementary food for the infant from the foods cooked
for the family, a small amount of dal or vegetable preparation should be
separated before adding spices to it. Pieces of chapati could be soaked in half
a katori of dal and some vegetable, if available.
• The mixed food could be mashed well and fed to the baby after adding a little
oil.
INSTANT INFANT FOODS
• Infant food mixes can be made at home from foodgrains available in the
household. These mixes can be stored atleast for a month and enable frequent
feeding of infants.
• These are sattu like preparations which is quite familiar in the Indian community.
One can take three parts of any cereal (rice/wheat) or millet (ragi, bajra jowar), one
part of any pulse (moong/channa/arhar) and half part of groundnuts or white til, if
available.
FREQUENCY OF FEEDING
• Infants and young children need to be fed 5-6 times a day in addition to breastfeeding.
It must be remembered that inadequate feeding of infants and young children during the
first two years is the main cause of malnutrition.
CONTINUED BREASTFEEDING
• Breastfeeding must be continued up to the age of two years or beyond.
• Continuing breastfeeding while giving adequate complementary foods to the baby

provides all the benefits of breastfeeding to the baby. In other words, the child gets
energy, high quality protein, vitamin A, anti-infective properties and other nutrients
• Besides achieving emotional satisfaction from the breastfeeding much needed for
optimum development of the child. Breastfeeding especially at night ensures
sustained lactation.

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INFANT AND YOUNG CHILD

FEEDING (IYCF) GUIDELINES –

BY MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND

• Initiation of breastfeeding immediately after birth, preferably within

• Appropriate and adequate complementary feeding from six months of

• Continued breastfeeding upto the age of two years or beyond.

Optimal Infant and Young Child Feeding practices - especially early

Breastfeeding is the best way to satisfy the nutritional and psychological

• Breast milk is the best natural food for babies.

• Breast milk is always clean.

• Breast milk protects the baby from diseases.

• Breast milk makes the child more intelligent.

• Breast milk is available 24 hours a day and requires no special preparation.

• Breastfeeding makes a special relationship between mother and baby.

• Breastfeeding helps parents to space their children.

• Breastfeeding helps a mother to shed extra weight gained during pregnancy.

• Early initiation of breastfeeding is extremely important for establishing

• It is yellowish in color and sticky. It is highly nutritious and contains anti-infective

Importance of Complementary Feeding

• Sometimes traditional foods are given after a little modification so as to make

• Breastfeeding must be continued up to the age of two years or beyond.

• Continuing breastfeeding while giving adequate complementary foods to the baby

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