Table 1.

World Health Organization infant feeding definitions

Infant feeding practice	Definition
Exclusive breastfeeding	Giving a child no other food or drink, including no water, in addition to breastfeeding with the exception of medicines, vitamin drops or syrups, and mineral supplements (7)
Predominant breastfeeding	Breastfeeding a child but also giving small amounts of water or water based drinks. Neither food-based fluid nor solid food are allowed under this definition (7)
Artificial feeding	Feeding a child on artificial feeds (including infant formula and powdered animal milk), and not breastfeeding at all (8)
Mixed feeding	Breastfeeding a child while giving non-human milk such as infant formula or food-based fluid or solid food (9)