As directed by WHO, breastfeeding must be initiated within an hour of delivery .and it should be the only food for the infant till 6 months.[not even water is needed].
WHO strictly recommends exclusive breastfeeding for infants up to 6 months and after which additional foods can be given along with breastmilk up to 2 years and later the child can be transformed fully to normal foods.
so in short, start: as early as possible
recommended time for shifting completely to other foods[i.e stopping breastfeeding]:-2 years
Now you know when to start, let us see how often should you feed your child!
The best answer is to feed according to the baby’s need, there is no fixed 3 time or 4-time schedule as we have. It is undesirable to feed the baby by the clock. Instead, Feed whenever your baby feels hungry. But it doesn’t mean you have to feed your baby 24*7, give yourself and baby some break, usually babies feed with an interval of 1-4 hours gap.
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