Infants & new mums

Breastmilk is the bespoke food for a human infant. Breastfeeding ensures all the infants’ nutrient needs are met, encourages optimum infant development, facilitates mother and child bonding, and protects the infants’ and mothers’ health in the short and long term.

In order to protect breastfeeding and support families who use formula it is important that all those who offer advice to families have accurate and unbiased information about infant feeding, including clear information about infant formula. You can find all our independent resources on infant milks here.

Below you can find information and advice on eating well for new mothers, particularly those who are breastfeeding, and information and practical advice on introducing solid foods to babies, with recipes and photos to show the sorts of foods, and amounts of foods, that will give them a good start to their eating journey. On this webpage you can also find our eating well guide for vegan infants and under 5s, a recipe book with simple, cost-effective ideas for the whole family and a poster which provides a simple guide to eating well for infants.

Eating well for new mums
including information for breastfeeding mothers

The report summarises the importance of eating well for all new mums and answers some FAQ new breastfeeding mums might have about eating and drinking well. 

The resource provides ideas for snacks and drinks that also provide a range of other important nutrients, and complements the other resources we have produced which give practical ideas for eating well in pregnancy and for the whole family.

Breastmilk and breastfeeding
A simple guide

This short guide provides support for breastfeeding and breastmilk as the normal food for infants and young children and signposts to expert sources of advice and support.

Eating well: the first year
A guide to introducing solids and eating well up to baby's first birthday

This guide provides information and practical advice on introducing solid foods to babies (also called weaning, complementary feeding), with recipes and photos to show the sorts of foods, and amounts of foods, that will give them a good start to their eating journey. 

The information is in line with current policy in the UK and provides a pictorial guide which can be used to support families in the first year of their baby’s lives. This guide includes information and example recipes for vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, egg-free and dairy-free diets. Information on cultural diets and fussy eating are also included in this guide.

Downloading options for this resource
This guide is 130 pages long and in full colour. Please be aware that printing it out in full will use a lot of ink – especially yellow ink (!) and when we have done it on a home printer it has used more than one cartridge, so you might find it cheaper to buy a hard copy if you are doing this yourself.

Eating well: vegan infants and under-5s

Eating well is essential for children in their early years. There is clear evidence that the first 1000 days of life (the 9 months of pregnancy and the first 2 years of life) are particularly critical for ensuring healthy growth and development and to ensure all children meet their full potential. It is also important that children 2-5 years eat well to establish good eating patterns, to protect their teeth and to ensure they arrive in school at a healthy body weight and with a good and varied appetite. 

Families who choose a vegan diet may wish to bring their children up as vegans from birth, and it is important that all those that support families with infants and children on a vegan diet have clear, expert information on how to ensure energy and nutrient needs are met. The new practical photographic resource, Eating well for vegan infants and under-5s, provides information, recipes and portion size information for early years settings as well as practical advice relevant to all infants and children on eating well.

This updated report is designed for Early Years settings and for health professionals who support families in the community. It provides information on how to support vegan infants and children to eat well.

It contains practical advice, recipes and photos of portion sizes appropriate for different age groups. It also contains information on milk alternatives, cooking and ingredient tips for cooking for vegan children and useful sources of additional information

Preview Inside Eating well: vegan infants and under-5s

Eating well recipe book
Simple, cost-effective ideas for the whole family

This recipe book provides some simple ideas for cost-effective recipes for the whole family, using minimal cooking equipment and skills. The recipes show appropriate portion sizes for a main meal (or dessert) for infants, children aged 1-4 years, children aged 5-11 years and for adults and older children. The recipes all use ingredients that can be purchased with Healthy Start vouchers. There are recipes included that cater to vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free and egg-free diets.

What are the recommendations for giving water during infancy?

This poster illustrates the up to date recommendations for giving infants aged 0-12 months water, and is supported by a detailed FAQ document released in August 2022.

Poster
Eating well for babies 6 months +