Breastfeeding provides the ideal food during the first 6 months of a child’s life. Complementary feeding is therefore initiated when breast milk alone is no longer sufficient to supply the nutritional requirement of the infant. During infancy and early childhood adequate amount of appropriate nutrition has a paramount importance for full development of children’s growth potential. This period is also known as “critical window” for child’s growth and development.
When the critical window is passed, reversing of stunting development after the child has passed their second anniversary becomes a daunting task. As such, complementary feeding should be timely, offer adequate quantities of food, in the right frequency and consistency. The food should be prepared and given in a way that is appropriate and applying responsive feeding following principles for psychosocial care.
In the formative years, poor nutrition has immediate consequences of increased morbidity and mortality and delayed development of the brain as well as development of the nervous system. Starting at 6 months, infants can eat pureed, mashed and semi solid foods prepared from infant cereal, vegetables, fruits, meat and protein rich foods. At month 8, infants is capable of eating, ‘finger foods” in line with changing oral skills and emerging new abilities (munching and chewing). The thickness and lumpiness of foods can gradually change from pureed to ground, fork-mashed and eventually diced foods. Introduction of lumpy solid foods should occur around a critical age window of 10 months, so as to avoid latent risk of feeding difficulty associated with late introduction. To enhance optimal growth of child, it is advisable to increase the consistency of foods gradually with age.
Recommendation for complementary food introduction should follow the assessment of infant’s developmental readiness, nutritional status and health status, the family’s economic and socio cultural issues towards diet and food preferences.
George Ogachi,
Nutritionist
