Food for the suckling: revolution and development.

The 1970's saw a renaissance in child nutrition, a major revision of infant feeding practice and substantial changes in food for the suckling. Many more babies are breast fed, those who are not receive an infant formula specifically designed for this period of life, and solid foods are no longer introduced in the early weeks. These changes have contributed to the improvement in the suckling's health, particularly the reduction in neonatal tetany, and in deaths from gastroenteritis. Developments in the 1980's should improve our knowledge of breast milk and its properties, advisable intakes of specific nutrients and their interrelationships, and the immunology of infant feeding. Meanwhile, practice will be directed towards the enhancement of successful lactation, the processing of donor human milk, the establishment of standards for infant formulas and the special problems of the low birth weight baby.