“My baby is big and plump on breast milk alone. Surely that means she is getting everything she needs?”

Not necessarily, especially after six months.

A baby can look well fed and still be short of iron. From around six months, breast milk alone no longer meets all your baby’s nutritional needs.

That does not mean your milk has become bad or that you should stop breastfeeding. It means it is time to introduce food alongside it, including iron-rich foods.

If your baby refuses food, stopping breastfeeding is not automatically the answer.