9.2.3.12: Infant Feeding Policy

A policy about infant feeding should be developed with the input and approval from the nutritionist/registered dietitian and should include the following:

1. Storage and handling of expressed human milk;
2. Determination of the kind and amount of commercially prepared formula to be prepared for infants as appropriate;
3. Preparation, storage, and handling of infant formula;
4. Proper handwashing of the caregiver/teacher and the children;
5. Use and proper sanitizing of feeding chairs and of mechanical food preparation and feeding devices, including blenders, feeding bottles, and food warmers;
6. Whether expressed human milk, formula, or infant food should be provided from home, and if so, how much food preparation and use of feeding devices, including blenders, feeding bottles, and food warmers, should be the responsibility of the caregiver/teacher;
7. Holding infants during bottle-feeding or feeding them sitting up;
8. Prohibiting bottle propping during feeding or prolonging feeding;
9. Responding to infants’ need for food in a flexible fashion to allow cue feedings in a manner that is consistent with the developmental abilities of the child (policy acknowledges that feeding infants on cue rather than on a schedule may help prevent obesity) (1,2);
10. Introduction and feeding of age-appropriate solid foods (complementary foods);
11. Specification of the number of children who can be fed by one adult at one time;
12. Handling of food intolerance or allergies (e.g., cow’s milk, peanuts, orange juice, eggs, wheat).

Individual written infant feeding plans regarding feeding needs and feeding schedule should be developed for each infant in consultation with the infant’s primary care provider and parents/guardians.

RATIONALE

Growth and development during infancy require that nourishing, wholesome, and developmentally appropriate food be provided, using safe approaches to feeding. Because individual needs must be accommodated and improper practices can have dire consequences for the child’s health and safety, the policy for infant feeding should be developed with professional nutritionists/registered dietitians. The infant feeding plans should be developed with each infant’s parents/guardians and, when appropriate, in collaboration with the child’s primary care provider.

TYPE OF FACILITY

Center, Early Head Start, Large Family Child Care Home, Small Family Child Care Home

RELATED STANDARDS

4.3.1.1 General Plan for Feeding Infants
4.3.1.2 Responsive Feeding of Infants by a Consistent Caregiver/Teacher
4.3.1.3 Preparing, Feeding, and Storing Human Milk
4.3.1.4 Feeding Human Milk to Another Mother’s Child
4.3.1.5 Preparing, Feeding, and Storing Infant Formula
4.3.1.8 Techniques for Bottle Feeding
4.3.1.9 Warming Bottles and Infant Foods
4.3.1.11 Introduction of Age-Appropriate Solid Foods to Infants
4.3.1.12 Feeding Age-Appropriate Solid Foods to Infants
4.8.0.8 Microwave Ovens
Appendix JJ: Our Child Care Center Supports Breastfeeding

REFERENCES

1. Birch, L., W. Dietz. 2008. Eating behaviors of young child: Prenatal and postnatal influences on healthy eating, 59-93. Elk Grove Village, IL: American Academy of Pediatrics.
2. Taveras, E. M., S. L. Rifas-Shiman, K. S. Scanlon, L. M. Grummer-Strawn, B. Sherry, M. W. Gillman. 2006. To what extent is the protective effect of breastfeeding on future overweight explained by decreased maternal feeding restriction? Pediatrics 118:2341-48.