Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Infant and Newborn Nutrition
Food provides the energy and nutrients that babies need to be healthy. For a baby, breast milk is best. It has all the necessary vitamins and minerals. Infant formulas are available for babies whose mothers are not able to or decide not to breastfeed.
Infants are usually ready to eat solid foods at about 6 months of age. Check with your health care provider for the best time for your baby to start. If you introduce one new food at a time, you will be able to identify any foods that cause allergies in your baby. Allergic reactions include a a rash, diarrhea, or vomiting.
Many parents are concerned about peanut allergies. When babies can eat foods that contain peanuts depends on their risk of food allergies:
- Most babies can have peanut products when they are about 6 months of age
- Babies who have mild to moderate eczema have a higher risk of food allergies. They usually can eat peanut products at about 6 months of age. If you have concerns about this, check with your baby's health care provider.
- Babies who have severe eczema or egg allergies are at high risk for peanut allergies. If your baby is at high risk, check with your baby's health care provider. Your baby may need allergy testing. Your baby's provider can also recommend when and how to give your baby peanut products.
There are some foods that you should avoid feeding your baby:
- Do not give your baby honey before 1 year of age. Honey may contain bacteria that can cause botulism in babies.
- Avoid cow's milk before age 1, since it does not have all of the nutrients that babies need and babies cannot digest it
- Unpasteurized drinks or foods (such as juices, milks, yogurt, or cheeses) may put your child at risk for an E. coli infection. E coli is a harmful bacteria that can cause severe diarrhea.
- Certain foods that can cause choking, such as hard candy, popcorn, whole nuts, and grapes (unless they are cut into small pieces). Don't give your child these foods before age 3.
- Because it contains a lot of sugar, babies should not drink juice before age 1
It sits within Children and Teenagers and Food and Nutrition.
The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on Infant and Newborn Nutrition
196 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- Lipid Infusions to Optimize Nutrition TrialThe University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston
- Parent and Infant Inter(X)Action Intervention (PIXI)RTI International
- Early Check: Expanded Screening in NewbornsRTI International
- Adiposity and Iron Requirements in PregnancyUniversity of Ulster
- Enteral Lipid Supplementation and Bronchoplumonary Dysplasia of Premature InfantsAristotle University Of Thessaloniki
- High-energy Human Milk Diets in the First Two Weeks After Birth to Reduce BPD in Extremely Preterm InfantsUniversity of Alabama at Birmingham
Research already completed
- Feasibility and Validation of a Smart Changing Pad for Home Infant Weight Monitoring After Hospital DischargeStan Kachnowski
- Prevention of Malnutrition in Children With Sickle Cell DiseaseVanderbilt University Medical Center
- Exclusive Enteral Nutrition in Preterm NeonatesUniversity of Alabama at Birmingham
- PWS European Blood Bank for Infants and Controls From 0 to 48 MonthsUniversity Hospital, Toulouse
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Start Here
- Feeding Your NewbornNemours Foundation
- Once Baby ArrivesFood and Drug Administration
Related Issues
- Community Water Fluoridation Frequently Asked QuestionsCenters for Disease Control and Prevention
- Milk Allergy in InfantsNemours Foundation
- Stopping the BottleNemours Foundation
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Infant FormulaNational Institutes of Health
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Infant NutritionNational Institutes of Health
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Infant Nutrition DisordersNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Infant Nutrition Disorders, Infant Food, Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena, Infant Formula. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Infant and Newborn Nutrition, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.