Who could ever breastfeed an infant with no substitute for more than three years?

It is a great shame that some city women cannot even last for two months. What is the common complain? No milk. It has been one of the most common phrases nowadays, when the truth is, the only thing that stops milk is when the stimulation of a sucking infant is stopped. The minority of people in tribes has no choice when it comes to feeding their babies other than breastfeeding. It is most convenient: no need of warming devices, always sterile, always available…truly a gift of life!

Yes, there is no doubt that until now, the campaign for breastfeeding never stops. When a lot of women cannot feed their infants, the more educated a woman, the more chance that she breastfeeds. That is the ordeal, the more women climbs her career, and inevitably, a great help to the financial standing of the family. In this global age, this is no longer an issue of debate. In as much mothers want to give their own milk, science itself is an advocate to give alternatives to working mothers. Options to ease the lives of mothers include: formula, feeding bottles, books/references, electric and manual breast pumps, and of course, cereals.

A pediatrician starts advising a mother to give rice cereals to infants as early as 4 months. At this time, the infant may have his first taste of cereal in a serving of one teaspoon only in between milk feedings. This is to ensure that the baby gets adjusted to the solid food in small amounts. This will last for one week and gradually increased until the end of the month. The mother must still continue breastfeeding the baby. After all, the only key to abundant milk is by not stopping it. Although any alternate formula given to child will in some way affect the mother's milk production, the stimulation of the breast by the infant's continues sucking is still the secret.

Aside from giving rice cereal only, some fruits and vegetables could be introduced simultaneously and continued for several months and could be mixed with it. Eggs are absolutely not yet for infants below one year of age.

Rice cereals for infants are specially made to supplement infant dietary needs. They could either be prepared at home using white rice recipes or those available in the groceries that come in package. The main purpose is to add more energy by introducing carbohydrates, tough this has not been efficiently serving the purpose. The main benefit of giving rice cereals to breastfed baby is to increase thickness of feeding for those with swallowing difficulties; to put development of new feeding habit using a spoon.

To sum up, these practices of weaning an infant would be at the mother's discretion. The truth is, even without introducing rice cereals at the baby's fourth month, pure breast milk is enough to keep the baby healthy and strong. The breast milk is still the best that as long as it is prolonged, the lifetime benefits that an infant gets also increase, as far as antibodies are concerned. Rice cereals tend to increase infant's satiety that his craving for mother's milk will lessen. Breastfeeding on the other hand, satisfies the infant's sucking instinct, gives less stomach trouble, and is always available.