Responsive Feeding Infosheet

This infosheet helps health professionals to support parents to feed their babies responsively and so develop close and loving parent-infant relationships.

The Baby Friendly standards require that healthcare facilities explain a responsive feeding style to mothers, helping them to respond to their baby’s needs. This infosheet explores the concept of responsive breastfeeding and bottle feeding and how this benefits both babies and their parents. It details how feeding can be a source not only of nutrition, but also of love, comfort and reassurance between baby and mother. We explain how these concepts can be introduced to health professionals and how they in turn can support parents to feed their babies responsively and develop close and loving parent-infant relationships.