to wonder why people are so offended by Dr Christian's comment about breastfeeding?

[Justholdthesmile]

He basically says that breastfeeding is good for the first 6 months as it helps a babies immune system. However after 6 months it doesn't have an effect anymore, but as long as the baby is getting a healthy diet then it's fine to continue. He then says that breastfeeding older children may make them psychologically dependent on their mother ....

The last part I have no idea about. I suppose it might could potentially be true? But ultimately I believe it's yours and your childs choice and if you want to listen to expert advice then by all means go for it, if you don't then that's fine too.

It seems to have stirred quite a lot of anger. I'm not trying to get into a debate about ff and bf - each to their own 100%.

I'm asking more whether someone would find this doctors advice offensive?

[RandyRudolf]

We ignore expert advice every day...don't smoke, don't drink,don't eat meat, exercise more. Like you say, it's down to personal choice.

[gamerchick]

he didn't say that.. he was misquoted by closer.

But even his update was wrong. he clearly has issues about breastfeeding and especially about natural term breastfeeding.

He gave bad advice and needed to be slapped down for it.

[pettyprudence]

his quote is extremely misleading and goes against nhs and who guidelines/research. actually its nit just misleading it is out right wrong - both the original quote in closer and the extended "explanation"

[poopooheadwillyfatface]

Because it is factually incorrect.

That's why people have a problem with what he said.

There are lots of benefits to breastfeeding after 6m both for baby and child. And children with a strong attachment are often more independent not less. Tons of sound clinical evidence to back it up.

That's why lots of people have a problem with it.

TLDR - because he is talking out of his arse.

[OrangeMochaFrappucino]

Aren't most small children fairly psychologically dependent on their mother regardless of breastfeeding? Is it a bad thing? My son was bf til 14 months. He was , and remains, dependent on me and dh because he is a toddler and they depend on their parents/main carers.

This doctor's comments sound ill-informed and unnecessary. Breastmilk is still nutritious and can form part of a healthy diet after 6 months. If you stop at 6 months you have to use formula and why switch if you don't want to?

[poopooheadwillyfatface]

Oh that's the other thing - because he's a doctor it will be mistaken for expert advice by some.

He knows less about breastfeeding than my dead dog.

[CrohnicallyFarting]

Yes, because he's wrong, what magically changes about breast milk so that it doesn't have an effect after 6 months? Nothing. The immune properties are still there.

Besides, at 6 months you're supposed to suddenly stick your baby on solids and stop breast feeding on the same day? Babies and toddlers still need milk while they wean, if they've been breast fed up till that point why would you change their milk?

And as for being psychologically dependent on their mother, aren't most children? I'd be more worried if a child wasn't dependent on their mother (even the most confident and independent of children will have a need for their mother when they are hurt, scared, ill, etc)

[TeacupTempest]

Well if that is what he said/thinks he is ignorant and misinformed.

[tolittletoolate]

I'm disturbed and offended by someone breastfeeding an 8 yr old!

[gamerchick]

the child in the article wasn't 8

[CrohnicallyFarting]

PS it's offensive because I already have to battle enough prejudice when people find out I'm still breast feeding DD (she's 15 months), a dr saying it's wrong just gives them more ammunition.

[ZingSweetApple]

after 6 months the iron intake from breastmilk changes significantly - at least that's what I remember.

don't know about the psychological effect - but I bf DD for a year, longer than the others and she is really clingy still (21 m).
I don't know or suggest there's a connection.

I'm not offended. I'm amused - men talking about bf is hilarious to me!

[Justholdthesmile]

Sorry I didn't read the actual article (don't have Closer) and what I saw was just the quote and people reacting to that quote.

I don't know if he's wrong or misinformed, and that's not to say he's 100% factually correct. It's just people in the medical field will give out conflicting advice all the time and we learn new things every single day. Look at e-cigarettes, there is so much conflicting expert advice on them.

(Disclaimer not saying e-cigs are the same as breastfeeding, I'm just showing an example that even in this day and age we don't have all the answers)

[CrohnicallyFarting]

Where I live, breastfeeding at all apart from the first few feeds is definitely against the norm. Even one of the drs at my surgery was shocked- DD was ill and I took her to the surgery. The dr asked how much she had eaten/drunk that day. I replied that I didn't know because she was EBF. He couldn't believe that she wasn't having any solids or water at all. She was 4 months at the time.

[Meerka]

according to the world health organisation:


< Exclusive breastfeeding is recommended up to 6 months of age, with continued breastfeeding along with appropriate complementary foods up to two years of age or beyond.>

midn you my son needed, actively needed, pap from 5 months on, took me a while to figure out why the poor mite was so unhappy because it never occured to me (or the health visitor) what was wrong ... finally in desperation tried a mouthful of pap and he stopped grizzling immediately. And stopped loosing weight too

still breastfed til 1 yo when he simply didn't want it any more.

This doctor seems to be simply wrong!

[gamerchick]

the updated version www.closeronline.co.uk/2014/01/dr-christian-in-twitter-breastfeeding-storm

it's probably one of those situations that he just thought off the top of his head and didn't think he would get this backlash. I doubt that breastfeeding pops into head much when he's swabbing peoples bits.

[poopooheadwillyfatface]

He is nowhere near 100% correct.

Not even close. He got his own name right, that's about it.

[Whistleblower0]

i'm disturbed and offended by someone breastfeeding an eight year old!

A two year old would do it for me

[Dorris83]

Because he's peddling opinions as fact and using his status as a doctor to promote these opinions.
His extended explanations just further show that he doesn't know what he is talking about.
What a tosspot.

[Bumpandkind]

Yy to all the comments above. To add another thing, I feel he is harming the huge and ongoing (not to mention costly) breastfeeding promotion drive by the NHS. He is misinformed and sadly people will latch onto his advice over, say a midwife on the frontline of breastfeeding (who will receive much more ongoing bf training and be kept up to date with the latest in Bf studies) simply because he bears a Dr before his name.

[CrohnicallyFarting]

justhold as far as I know, there is no conflicting evidence though. His opinion that after 6 months there is no benefit is just that, his opinion. All the evidence points to breast feeding continuing to be beneficial after 6 months at least until 2 years. Unfortunately, as he is a dr, people will take what he says as fact.

[Justholdthesmile]

a dr saying it's wrong just gives them more ammunition.

I don't think he's saying it's wrong, I think he's saying a baby doesn't necessarily need to still be breastfed after 6 months - but if you want to then you can.

He doesn't give an age as to what older children are. In my opinion he is referring to children who are perhaps in school.

[yonisareforever]

meerka what is pap?

i really resent the inference that a small child age up to 2 shouldn't be dependant on the mother.

lets just rip them away at birth, shove them in a room by themselves far far away from any adult, let them cry it out, rip the dummy off them....force them to potty train at 1 day....

[CrohnicallyFarting]

Exactly bump, not to mention the fact that he's on TV and some people will believe anything they see on TV over real life advice.

It really is a shame, because I really liked the guy before this, now I won't be able to see him in the same light again.