You can stop worrying if you're a new parent who has been concerned by recent news coverage over feeding babies water.
The story emerged on Buzzfeed a few days ago as an informational piece for parents. It included an interview with registered dietitian Katie Zeratsky from Mayo Clinic with the headline 'This is why you should never give your baby water'.
"Giving water to your baby could be fatal," the article warned.
It was later picked up by other national UK news titles who ran similar headlines.
But experts at Public Health England have slammed the articles for giving 'unhelpful mixed messages' to parents.
Louis Levy, head of nutrition science at Public Health England, told our sister title the Liverpool ECHO: “Worrying parents and carers about feeding their babies with mixed messages is unhelpful.
"Fully breastfed babies don’t need any water until they start eating solid foods at around six months of age.
"However bottle-fed babies may need some extra water in hot weather. For babies under six months of age, tap water should be sterilised by boiling and then cooled.”
Similar advice is also offered on the NHS Choices website, which states: "Fully breastfed babies don't need any water until they've started eating solid foods. Bottle-fed babies may need some extra water in hot weather.
"For babies under six months, use water from the mains tap in the kitchen. You will need to boil then cool the tap water as it's not sterile straight from the tap. Water for babies over six months doesn't need to be boiled."
