THIS is with regards to ‘President Alvi’s Tweet’ (Dec 5), I was surprised to read that the writer was worried about the fact that baby food is not manufactured in Pakistan.

As a nutritionist I am glad that this is so. No baby needs commercial-made baby food. The WHO recommends that infants should be exclusively breast-fed for the first six months and then complementary (weaning) foods should be introduced slowly into the baby’s diet.

These foods should be foods that are available in the home but are modified for infant’s needs. For example rice, potato or banana can me mashed with a little milk and fed to the infant. Later, other foods such as egg can also be added to the diet. Freshly prepared home food is much better for the infant than commercial foods that have preservatives added.

I hope people will realise that commercially prepared baby food is definitely not a necessity.

Dr Salma H. Badruddin

Karachi

Published in Dawn, December 12th, 2018