Commentary on a Cochrane Review of early additional food and fluids for healthy breastfed full-term infants

The World Health Organization recommends that infants should be exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months of life. A Cochrane Review assessed the benefits and harms of additional foods and fluids for full-term healthy breastfed infants. The review included randomized or quasirandomized controlled trials of full-term healthy breastfed infants up to the age of 6 months. Six studies met the inclusion criteria. Trials from early days after birth did not indicate that giving additional fluids was beneficial. Trials with 4- to 6-month-old infants did not indicate any benefit to supplementing with food at 4 months. This review did not find any evidence for disagreement with the recommendation that exclusive breastfeeding should be recommended for 6 months after birth.