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}}</ref> Human milk should be the sole source of nutrition for the first six months, however the [[Canadian Paediatric Society ]] (2013) and the [[American Academy of Pediatrics ]] (2022) recommended supplementation with Vitamin D.<ref name="cps2013" /> <ref name="aap2022" />Complementary foods are introduced at about six months of age, but breastfeeding should continue.<ref name="cps2013"/><ref name="aap2022"/> The [[WHO]] and [[UNICEF]] recommend recommend that children initiate breastfeeding within the first hour of birth and be exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months of life — meaning no other foods or liquids are provided, including water. Infants should be breastfed on demand — that is as often as the child wants, day and night. No bottles, teats or pacifiers should be used. From the age of 6 months, children should begin eating safe and adequate complementary foods while continuing to breastfeed for up to 2 years and beyond.<ref>{{REFweb |url=https://www.who.int/health-topics/breastfeeding#tab=tab_2 |title=Breastfeeding |publisher=[[WHO]] |accessdate=2022-12-08}}</ref>  Tan et al. (2019) reported: <blockquote>Early circumcision, within the first 3 days of life, may have a negative effect on the duration of breastfeeding. In our study, circumcised male infants had more than 4 fewer weeks of breastfeeding than their sibling controls. It may be beneficial to delay circumcision till after breastfeeding is properly established.<ref name="tan2024">{{REFjournal |last=Tan |first= |init=A |author-link= |last2=Noble |first2= |init2=L |author2-link= |last3=Jain |first3= |init3=S |author3-link= |last4=Shajan |first4= |init4=A |author4-link= |last5=Craik |first5= |init5=D |author5-link= |etal=no |title=The Effect of Early Circumcision on Breastfeeding Duration Using Sibling Comparisons |trans-title= |language= |journal=Pediatrics |location= |date=2019-08 |volume=144 |issue=2 |article=2_MeetingAbstract): 273 |pages= |url=https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/144/2_MeetingAbstract/273/3356/The-Effect-of-Early-Circumcision-on-Breastfeeding |archived= |quote= |DOI=10.1542/peds.144.2MA3.273 |accessdate=2024-07-21}}</ref></blockquote> The [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] reported that more than 80 percent of American mothers breastfeed, which makes breastfeeding the cultural norm in the [[United States]].<ref name="aap2022"/> ==Benefits of breastfeeding==The advantages of breastfeeding have long been known. [[James Calvert Spence]] (1938) reported the benefits to the health and welfare of the infant.<ref name="spence1938">{{REFjournal |last=Spence |first= |init=JC |author-link=James Calvert Spence |etal=no |title=The modern decline of breastfeeding |trans-title= |language= |journal=Br Med J |location= |date=1938-10-08 |volume=2 |issue=4057 |pages=729-33 |url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2210420/pdf/brmedj04218-0002.pdf |archived= |quote= |pubmedID=20781788 |pubmedCID= |DOI=10.1136/bmj.2.4057.729 |format=PDF |accessdate=2023-03-26}}</ref> 

The [[American Academy of Pediatrics ]] reported that, as compared with formula feeding, breastfeeding reduces [[SIDS|sudden infant death syndrome ]] (SIDS), infant and neonatal mortality, lower respiratory tract infection, severe or persistent diarrhea, otitis media, asthma, eczema, Crohn's disease, colitis, childhood and adult obesity, diabetes, and leukemia.<ref name="aap2022" />

In infancy, simple sugars in breast milk, like antibacterial oligosaccharides, are acquired from the mother's milk and excreted in [[urine]]. University studies have shown that these substances cling to the [[mucosa]]l lining of the inner foreskin and protect against urinary tract infections,<ref>{{REFbook |last=Hanson |init=LA |last2=Karlsson |init2=B |last3=Jalil |init3=F |etal=yes |chapter=Antiviral and antibacterial factors in human milk |editor=Hanson LA |title=Biology of Human Milk |location=New York |publisher=Raven Press |year=1988 |pages=141-57}}</ref> as well as [[infection]] in other parts of the body.<ref>{{REFjournal |last=Coppa |init=GV |last2=Gabrielli |init2=O |last3=Giorgi |init3=P |last4=Catassi |init4=C |last5=Montanari |init5=MP |last6=Veraldo |init6=PE |last7=Nichols |init7=BL |title=Preliminary study of breast feeding and bacterial adhesion to uroepithelial cells |journal=Lancet |date=1990-03-10 |volume=335 |issue=8689 |pages=569-71}}</ref> Babies excrete in their [[urine]] about 300-500 milligrams of oligosaccharides each day. These compounds prevent virulent strains of ''Escherichia coli'' from adhering to the [[mucosa]] lining of the entire urinary tract, including the [[foreskin]] and [[glans]]. For these reasons breast-milk is highly efficacious at preventing [[UTI]].<ref>{{REFjournal |last=Gothefors |init=L |last2=Olling |init2=S |last3=Winberg |init3=J |title=Breastfeeding and biological properties of faecal ''E. coli'' strains |journal=Acta Paediatr Scand |date=1975-11 |volume=54 |issue=6 |pages=807-12}}</ref> Rigorous studies have repeatedly demonstrated that breast feeding protects against urinary tract infections.<ref>{{REFjournal |last=Mårild |init=S |title=Breastfeeding and Urinary tract Infections |journal=Lancet |date=1990 |volume=336 |page=942}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal |last=Pisacane |init=A |etal=yes |title=Breastfeeding and urinary tract infection |journal=Lancet |date=1990-07-07 |page=50}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal |last=Pisacane |init=A |last2=Graziano |init2=L |last3=Mazzarella |init3=G |etal=yes |title=Breast-feeding and urinary tract infection |journal=J Pediatr |date=1992 |volume=120 |pages=87-89}}</ref> == Contraindications to breastfeeding ==There are certain conditions that contraindicate breastfeeding. The [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] provides a discussion of contraindications.<ref name="aap2022"/> == Video ===== Why is breastfeeding important? ===<youtube>v=yt2pMQjzP50</youtube> ==Circumcision impairs commencement of breastfeeding==Neonatal [[circumcision]] is a medically unnecessary, non-therapeutic, intensely [[Pain| painful ]] surgery that is carried out just at the time when breastfeeding is being commenced. Circumcision causes extreme [[pain]], [[trauma]], and [[shock]], and disturbs feeding behavior. <ref>{{REFjournal |last=American Academy of Pediatrics. Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health; Task Force on Pain in Infants, Children, and Adolescents |etal=no |title=The Assessment and Management of Acute Pain in Infants, Children, and Adolescents (0793) |journal=Pediatrics |location= |date=2002-09 |season= |volume=108 |issue=3 |article= |page= |pages=793-7 |url=http://www.cirp.org/library/pain/re9933/ |archived= |quote= |pubmedID=11533354 |pubmedCID= |DOI=10.1542/peds.108.3.793 |accessdate=2022-12-08}}</ref> [[Circumcised]] boys will be very uncomfortable and fussy when compared with [[intact]] boys and girls.<ref>{{REFweb |url=https://thewholetruth.data.blog/2025/06/25/fussy-boys-calm-girls-how-circumcision-distorts-our-view-of-gender-behavior/ |title=Fussy Boys & Calm Girls: How Circumcision Distorts Our View of Gender Behavior |last=Barrett |first= |init=JL |author-link= |publisher=The Whole Truth |date=2025-06-25 |accessdate=2025-06-26}}</ref> The newborn infant boy is left in a debilitated state in which he is may be unable to manage to breastfeedinitiate breastfeeding,<ref>{{REFjournal

}}</ref> <ref>{{REFjournal

}}</ref> which frequently results in the introduction substution of formula feeding to the detriment of a boy's health.<ref>{{REFjournal