How many months is the baby exclusively breastfed?
You can decide for yourself how many months your child will be fed exclusively on your milk.
But you shouldn't do this depending on a calendar. Because breastfeeding is about a close physical and psychological bond for you and your baby. A timetable is disruptive. It does not fulfil your needs or those of your baby.
Your baby will clearly show you when it feels the need for solid food. It reaches for it, brings it to its mouth and munches the new food with relish.
But when that is, is not written in any calendar. It can be after a few months. Other children have no need for solid food for a long time.
It doesn't matter as long as you love this breastfeeding bond. Breast milk has everything your child needs. The quantity matches the age of the child. Provided you breastfeed your child according to its needs.
You are part of the breastfeeding team
But you can and must decide what you want. After all, you are part of this team. You are the mother of this child. So it's also about you. And your need certainly has nothing to do with the calendar. Your life as a breastfeeding mum is always a short phase if you relate this time to your whole life. It is a unique time with this baby. You have it - you will lose it. In terms of a human life, the breastfeeding phase is always short. Whether it's five months, nine months or a whole year: in retrospect at the latest, the breastfeeding relationship will have been short. You should therefore not orientate yourself on a number of months, but on your personal life needs.
Any breastfeeding recommendation can only be a rough guide. They can give you clues as to how you can recognise your child's needs. You can then decide for both of you.
Breastfeeding is good for your baby's health.
Recommendation of the WHO (World Health Organisation)
Breastfeeding is good for your baby's health, but breastfeeding is also good for mum's health. The recommendation of the World Health Organisation takes this into account.
She advises that all babies should be exclusively breastfed for at least six months. The weaning process, i.e. the time during which the baby receives solid food and breast feeds, should be completed by the first birthday at the earliest. Prolonged breastfeeding protects babies from infectious diseases. Children benefit from this even when they are older than two years.
If you do not want to breastfeed
It is also perfectly okay not to breastfeed. In this case, your baby needs special food that is similar to breast milk in terms of its components. However, it should be noted that breast milk is so complex in structure that it cannot yet be fully reproduced. No breast-milk substitute product is on a par with breast milk 100%. But breast milk research is helping to make infant formula better and better.
