Baby feeding schedule of 1970's

[HoHoHowMuch]

A relative found this feeding schedule from probably early to mid 1970's. Amazed to see how much advice has changed! No feeding on demand. Orange juice from 2 months and boiled cows milk from 8 months. No fresh vegetables, but honey at 7 months is all good. I guess we all survived, so it can't have been that bad, but looks VERY different to what I have done with my kids in the past 10 years.

Oops I'm wrong. The advice was changed in 2009

www.food.gov.uk/research/food-allergy-and-intolerance-research/testing-of-government-advice-on-peanut-consumption-during-early-life

@Redhop my nan used to put brandy in with milk in the bottle to get her babies to sleep. Smoked like a chimney too. Definitely never followed her advice on baby care.

Goigling suggests welfare orange juice was an nhs initiative and ended in 1971

If I recall, there is a study showing the link to early weaning and the development of Type 1 diabetes in later life. Something like doubles the chances of developing it.

Somewhere I have the feeding schedule given to my mum in 1969 for me. Three hourly feeds. Think weaning began at either 12 weeks or 12lbs whichever came first. Totally discouraged from breastfeeding (she then went on to try and discourage me from breastfeeding mine but I ignored her.) Someone mentioned gut issues - and yes I have digestive issues and also problems with my jaw through being bottlefed.

Or the Welfare Foods service rather than nhs

These adults will be around 50. I'm fairly sure that group is very well represented among people who are obese and have dietary intolerances!

That's pretty much the schedule MIL tried her best to get me to put DS on (DH is around the age of that publication..)

I had my babies (4) between 1973 and 1981.

Breast fed on demand (and went on until 18months at least). Didn't even think about weaning until 7months and then onto baby rice first. Penelope Leach was the guru.
I never saw any of this stuff nor was I encouraged to do anything like that. Don't know anyone else who did either. I find it as weird as you do.

Yes but younger people are projected to be more obese. I just find it interesting that improved nutrition in babyhood seems to have such little effect on overall health!

The health visitor told my mum to feed me an egg at 8 weeks (1976). I came out in a rash, she walked to the phone box and called the doctor who said give her an aspirin!!!

That's interesting. Then again, when my kids were babies (10-15 years ago) the feeding boards were full of arguments over weaning age, BF vs FF, BLW, differing advice from differetn HVs etc so I don't suppose the 70s and 80s were any different (just without MN 😉). Certainly my mum didn't have me on the strict feeding regime that MIL seems to have done with DH, and we're around the same age (and same age bracket as your kids).

I love the resourcefulness of brandy from a fountain pen!

I was born mid 80s and my brother early 90s and my mum stuck with the advice of regularly spaced out feeds and weaning with baby rice very early, before 3 months and I think my brother had rice at a couple of months as he apparently didn't like milk.

I think a lot of the thinking was that milk just wouldn't be enough and that fullness was considered more than nutrition. Although I guess that was the thinking behind the orange juice - cool refreshing morning vitamins!

Imagine the post orange juice nappy!

I'm in my 50s. I wasn't breastfed, had solids from an early age, and both my parents smoked (I don't know if my mother smoked while pregnant).

I'm a healthy weight (people didn't snack all the time when I was growing up or have lots of takeaways), in good health and take no medication.

Yes, some people may have health issues, and they may stem from childhood, but each generation has different health issues. There were no obese children when I was at school. Even in secondary school in my year of about 160 there were perhaps about 3 or 4 who were overweight. I now see some very overweight young people of all ages.

I was born in the late 1960s and was the youngest of four. my mum breastfed all of us on demand, weaned after 6 months, picked us up when we cried, all very "modern" parenting. It wasn't the universal way of feeding babies.

@HoHoHowMuch

Human beings can survive all sorts. There’s no evidence 70s babies suffer any more IBS than any other generation that I am aware of.

Lots of research nowadays is focused on the microbiome (‘gut health’) and if this can be used as a predictor for overall health. Weaning is interesting as it introduces different bacteria’s/fungi’s etc. to babies people who may/not be ready for it.

Not sure enough is fully understood about this to advise on weaning regimes even today, but obviously v early weaning is not advisable. Think the jury is out on what we’ll know in 10 years and if the advice will remain the same.

I was born in '55 my sister in '57 (5th and 6th of 7 kids so mum did it her way). I was fully breast fed for 9months, was a chubby kid and have struggled with my weight all my life. My sister, weighed nearly 2lb more than me (I suspect gestational diabetes as she was nearly 12lb). She totally refused the breast, drank a bottle of milk so fast she projectile vomited so had baby rice added to all her bottles from then on to thicken it and slow her down.
She ended up 2 inches shorter than me and has never been above a size 10 in her life.

I avoided peanuts (my favourite food!) and my child ended up with a peanut allergy. Next time around, I ate as many as I liked!

Yes, I definitely take your point re obesity, you're right.

When I was in North Staffs (Stoke on Trent) maternity hospital having my first ds in 1990, they still had a smoking room on the ante natal ward for all the pregnant smoking mums!! They would sit in there having a fag and a chat, it had glass windows and you could hardly see the mums through the fog of smoke!

I'm glad somebody else mentioned Penelope Leach! My mum BF me for just over a year, there's no way she would have considered early solids.

Loving this thread.

Fairly sure I was bottle fed on a schedule and weaned before four months. DH was weaned at three months on weetabix with explosive effects.

The nuts advice changed in 2009 when I was pregnant and I gladly ate much peanut butter as I was starving. Dsis studiously avoided all nuts during her pregnancy and niece has quite a bad allergy. It is quite sad to think that simple advice followed to the book for the sake of your baby could have the opposite effect to that intended just because of the era in which you read the advice.

I was weaned on egg yolk at 6 weeks in the 60s. My gut is just peachy, thank you.

I was born in the late 1960s . My lovely mum gave us weetabix in our bottle with the teat widened from 12 weeks …we all survived 😊
I would never criticise a different generation for their parenting unless it was obvious abuse!
Am sure our children will do things differently with their children !