Breastfeeding is the feeding of an infant or young child with breast milk directly from human breasts, not from a baby bottle or other container. Babies have a sucking reflex that enables them to suck and swallow milk. It is possible for most mothers to nourish their infant (or infants in the case of twins and multiple births) by breastfeeding for the first six months, if not longer, without the supplement of infant formula milk or solid food.

In most situations human breast milk is the best source of nourishment for human infants, preventing disease, promoting health and reducing health care costs (exceptions include situations where the mother is taking certain drugs or is infected with tuberculosis or HIV). Experts disagree about how long to breastfeed to gain the greatest benefit, and about the risks of using artificial formulas. In both developing and developed countries, artificial feeding is associated with more deaths from diarrhoea in infants.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends breastfeeding for up to two years or beyond and exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends at least one year of breastfeeding and exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of the infant's life. Exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life "provides continuing protection against diarrhea and respiratory tract infection" that is more common in babies fed formula. The WHO and AAP both stress the value of breastfeeding for mothers and children. While recognizing the superiority of breastfeeding, regulating authorities work to make artificial feeding safer when it is not used.

According to a WHO 2001 report, alternatives to breastfeeding include:

• expressed breast milk from an infant's own mother
• breast milk from a healthy wet-nurse or a human-milk bank
• a breast-milk substitute fed with a cup, which is a safer method than a feeding bottle and teat.

Lactation

Main: Lactation The production, secretion and ejection of milk is called lactation. It is one of the defining features of being a mammal.

Breast milk

main: Breast milk Not all the properties of breast milk are understood, but its nutrient content is relatively stable. Breast milk is made from the nutrients in the mother's bloodstream and bodily stores. Some studies estimate that a woman who breastfeeds her infant exclusively uses 400 - 600 extra calories a day in producing milk. The composition of breast milk changes depending on how long the baby nurses at each session, as well as on the age of the child.