Practice 9: Complementary Feeding

Starting at six months of age, feed children freshly prepared variety of complementary food, while continuing to breastfeed babies up to two years or longer.

• Talk about complementary feeding while continuing breastfeeding.
• Ask the mother when she, or any caregiver with small baby in the family, started giving solid food to the baby.
• Ask the mother what she is feeding her baby and how many times in a day.
• Listen attentively.

• Appreciate if the family is introducing complementary feeding properly. Advise to continue.
• If they are not, discuss the reasons. Do they not have enough knowledge?
• Talk about diverse/variety of food.
• Recommend home-made recipes and not the expensive packed cereals from the market. Also advise mother on talking to infant while feeding and make the feeding an enjoyable and fun activity for the child.

• If the mother does not know how to make khitchri, provide this information and help her cook it for the first time.
• If the mother thinks the child spits out, then teach her how to properly handle the child while feeding i.e., responsive feeding.

• After 6 months, a child needs energy-rich additional food along with breastfeeding.
• Wash your hands properly before preparing food and feeding your baby.
• Start by giving a child soft/mashed/semi-liquid foods e.g. milk, porridge, potatoes, eggs among others
• Feed the child frequently, at least 3 times a day along with breastfeeding.
• Give a snack like fruit, an egg or bread in between meals.
• Talk to the child while feeding and tell him/her stories, interact with him/her.
• Ensure that the fathers also take part in feeding the children.