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?

I don't find feeding an 8 year old repulsive, there comes a point when their teeth change and they can no longer feed, if an 8 year old is feeding (and this child wasn't 8) it is because they haven't reached the biological point, where it is no longer necessary.

Natural term weaning brings health benefits to the mother and child. In these days of increasing obesity, cancer detection etc, I wonder why people don't realise that the more we play with mother nature, the more she comes and bites us on our proverbial arses.

Is he being paid by nestle? What he is saying is that mothers should feed their babies formula after 6 months of breastfeeding .

As the guidelines say babies under 1 shouldn't have cows milk as a main drink, he is practically advising introducing formula over mothers milk. Despite the fact mothers milk is proven to be vastly superior to formula.

The mans an arse.

I am currently breastfeeding my 15 month old. I never expected to be doing that. My last child fed until 9 months.
When I told hv at 1 year check I was still breastfeeding she replied. Thats good.
Who agrees. Maybe feeding at 8 is abit weird but each to their own.

Quite urigellar
To suggest that breastfeeding should stop at six months is to state that formula should be given at that stage.
I still agree with oxford a little flowery in parts for some. But not smug and not a loon.

It surprises me how much media coverage he gets as a doctor who got his medical degree over 10 years ago and has not yet completed any specialist training. In my opinion, as he is neither a qualified GP nor a specialist, he had no place to be in the media giving out (often questionable) advice.

Sorry where does he say that bf should stop after 6 months?

As far as I can see all he says is there is no reason not to continue beyond 6 months if you want to...

agree, laurel

fucking telly "doctors" piss me off

media whores they are, just like any other Z list sleb

Myrubberduck -

Here is what was printed in closer which is entirely incorrect and damaging - evolutionaryparenting.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/closer-idiot.jpg

Here is the article 'clarifying' what he said, note - no apology for printing lies or retracting what they printed anywhere. - www.closeronline.co.uk/2014/01/dr-christian-in-twitter-breastfeeding-storm

People are offended because instead of him being pissed off with closer for totally misquoting him apparently, he was defensive and unapologetic for their actions, and was rude, unprofessional and treated it all like a joke.

Also myrubberduck

In the 2nd link - the article quoting what he actually said. He is still giving out incorrect information.

Also making claims about dependance on the mother of children breastfed natural term with absolutely no evidence whatsoever. There is none. Opinion is not fact, and as a medical professional, he should be advising based on fact.

I hate to use the word professional with regards to him

Yup that's what I thought he said.

Still done see that he is advising people to stop at 6 months. In fact he is saying there is no reason to stop as long as the baby's diet is balanced. This is I suspect that bm does not necessarily have the same amounts of vit D and iron as formula but if baby's diet is fine that should not matter . I'm pretty sure that's true !

Glossing over the incorrect information and the appalling attitude and the offering of opinion as fact...

It's all in the wording. 'no need' 'no harm' etc...

I assume you're ignoring the obvious for arguments sake.

I understand this an emotive issue, but I'm pretty knowledgeable about this area, and Dr C actually has a point (and I'm certainly no fan). WHO guidance caters for 'worst case scenario' - it's takes a one size fits all approach because it has to - it wouldn't be feasible to offer separate advice depending on social class/geographical location/culture etc.

If one is being truly scientific about the benefits of breastfeeding i.e. considering only robust randomised controlled trials/meta-analyses, whilst there is some evidence that it can, for some infants, provide health benefits (help fight infection, reduce gastro problems, less chance of developing eczema) these are relatively short term benefits. There is very little convincing evidence that there are many (if any) long term health benefits i.e. into adulthood, and absolutely none to suggest benefits associated with IQ, emotional wellbeing and all the other presumed benefits of breastfeeding.

I truly wish the evidence was more convincing (breastfed both dc for over a year and loved it), but frustratingly it isn't. Yes you will always be able to find a study/studies that find breastfed babies are happier/have higher IQs than ff babies but this doesn't mean these effects are attributable to breastfeeding. There is a great deal of misinformation out there on both sides.

Nope - just giving the words their ordinary meaning

But of course I am forgetting that anyone who fails to extoll the enormous benefits of extended bf is of course in league with nestle

OxfordBags I think you may have misread me. I never said that the difference for babies in the West was nonexistent, just that it's likely to be less stark and as such it might be sensible to be a bit less absolutist about the issue when living in a comparatively rich, well-nourished environment.

My point was not about contesting the guidelines, but about leaving mothers free to take other factors into account and apply a measure of judgement to them, thus perhaps fractionally reducing the general mummy-guilt payload and even taking the heat out of the BF debate a bit in the context of an average Western middle-class lifestyle. Seems that's not possible though

I understand this an emotive issue, but I'm pretty knowledgeable about this area, and Dr C actually has a point (and I'm certainly no fan). WHO guidance caters for 'worst case scenario' - it's takes a one size fits all approach because it has to - it wouldn't be feasible to offer separate advice depending on social class/geographical location/culture etc.

^ Just this, really, was my point. Treating WHO guidelines like some kind of absolute standard is just a recipe for guilt and misery. And god knows enough of that gets directed at mothers.

treating WHO guidelines like some kind of absolute standard is just a recipe for guilt and misery

I'll admit after the experience with first son, I'll be more open minded that the guidelines don't suit all babies. Perhaps I should have been the first time, but it was all new to me and I wanted to do it the 'right' way ... it's just that no one told my son the guidelines :D and yes, i still feel guilty that the poor mite was simply hungry at 5 months and we didn't realise. Mind you, neither did the health visitor, but even so ...

did carry on bfíng til a year though and personally I think it did indeed help his very dry skin, inherited from both parents. Anecdata tho

Manatee, I think there is so much crap in our society that actively or indirectly makes women feel guilty/ashamed/like failures, that the issue of BFing has become some sort of whipping boy, because it's a controllable factor. And no-one wants to look at the guilt placed on BFers: sometimes, all it takes is the mere mention that you do, or have, BFed a child, and people presume you are saying it to make a point, or to make them feel inferior, or guilty. And heaven forfend you say anything positive about the bloody experience. BFers can't not Bf or not find it positive (if they do) just to manage other people's emotions and issues for them.

If women who want to Bf were given sufficient and correct breastfeeding advice and support, the amount of women who do so successfully would be astronomically higher, and would, I believe lead to many more women Bfing their Dc for longer durations. Instead of focusing on this shit situation, where mothers and babies are being let down, women are encouraged to in-fight, and accuse one another of trying to make others feel guilty.

"Treating WHO guidelines like some kind of absolute standard is just a recipe for guilt and misery"

You could say the same about WHO guidelines on obesity and healthy eating.

Our culture makes achieving a healthy BMI a massive challenge for a large proportion of women. Ditto breastfeeding. The main reason why most women in the uk don't breastfeed for more than a few weeks is because we are - basically - a bottle feeding culture.

But that's not a good enough reason to discard evidence based health information on weight management or breastfeeding.

Amberleaf, my comment about the bonding was not smug and patronising. How does my subjective experience offend you? If someone said that having 3 daughters was wonderful, I wouldn't think, as the mother of a son, that that was a smug or patronising thing to say, I'd just think "that's her opinion, I like having a son".

Are mothers who Bf for longer periods supposed to lie or stay silent about how bloody wonderful it is?! Perhaps if we weren't treated like freaks, or as though we're only doing it to guilt-trip or offend others, maybe more women would give it a try. My comment was intended to point out the other benefits and aspects to longer BFing, outside of looking purely at nutritional benefits, which is what was/is happening in this debate.

We are adults here: when are people going to get past the schoolgirl level of thinking that anyone else who is positive about a different experience or whatever, that they themselves haven't had, is having that experience, or discussing it, with the purpose of trying to make themselves appear superior, or to criticise any other choice? This bullshit spoils every bloody debate.

The WHO recommend 2 years of breast feeding. It's just the UK and some other westernised countries that have issues with feeding longer then a few months.

I would swap the words 'psychologically dependent' with 'well bonded'

Inthink the emotional side of bfeeding has been of great value to me and my DCs. A way of calming/ soothing etc. it's definitely been about more than just nutrition for my DCs.
But I don't talk about it in RL because I know that some ppl will think I bfeed for my own benefit (coercing my poor dcs) or that ppl will become defensive about their feeding methods.
Or both.
I think it's a shame that someone of so little expertise has the ear of so many.
It really does babies a disservice to talk such rubbish.

I love the idea that you could force or coerce a child with teeth to breastfeed!

But Oxford what you said was 'until someone has BFed a child for quite a long time, you can't imagine the level of bonding and understanding and communication between the two of you it creates.'

And likewise you can't understand the extent of the bond between mothers who ff their children. Of course you are only relaying your own experiences but it reads as though you're implying only BF creates these strong levels of bonding, understanding and communication. And that simply isn't true.

My mum is a HCP and has also said that the WHO guidelines are more geared towards mothers and babies in developing countries. So while the ideal is to breastfeed for as long as possible, in countries where there is clean water, plenty of suitable food for a baby to eat etc. the benefits of breastfeeding past 6 months are much smaller.

We are designed to feed babies by breast. Many moons ago we would have been living in caves, doing extended feeding and eating a very basic diet.