RT Book, Section A1 Morton, Jane A1 Lawrence, Ruth A. A2 Rudolph, Colin D. A2 Rudolph, Abraham M. A2 Lister, George E. A2 First, Lewis R. A2 Gershon, Anne A. SR Print(0) ID 6732808 T1 Chapter 24. Breast-Feeding T2 Rudolph's Pediatrics, 22e YR 2011 FD 2011 PB The McGraw-Hill Companies PP New York, NY SN 978-0-07-149723-7 LK accesspediatrics.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=6732808 RD 2024/03/28 AB The World Health Organization, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and all major health organizations recommend that all infants should be exclusively breast-fed for the first 6 months of life, and breast-feeding should be continued while adding weaning foods for the next 6 months and then for as long as mother and child desire (unless there is a medical contraindication).1,2 Human milk has evolved for the human infant and is ideally structured to meet the nutritional needs for infant growth and development. It provides a variety of bioactive components that protect from infection and promote normal development.3 These include hormones (oxytocin, thyroid-stimulating hormone, growth hormone, thyroxine, cortisol insulin), growth factors (epidermal growth factor, nerve growth factors, somatomedin-C, insulinlike growth factors), neuropeptides (somatostatin, neurotensin, vasoactive peptides), inflammatory and immunomodulatory agents (cytokines), and pheromones, which stimulate suckling behavior.4-6 The relative composition of milk and its bioactive agents differ from one mother to the next depending on her past experience, her genetic makeup, her diet, and the gestational age of her infant. The composition of the mother’s milk changes over time following birth and over the course of the feeding.