Importance of cows milk

[TripleRock]

I have posted on here before about my 18mo weight gain.

She has dropped 2 centiles since she turned 1yo, but is still gaining.

We have now been told this might be linked to respiratory issues (possible asthma).

She has self-weaned to 1 BF p/day (max 2) and refuses cows milk. The doctor at the hospital has told me that she will not take to cows milk whilst I am still BF due to the difference in taste. When I asked, so should I stop BF?, he said yes I can stop due to her age.

I would like to carry on BF as I strongly believe it's good for her and helps her fight the respiratory viral infections she is prone to. I also don't see how cows milk is the be all and end all, when she has milk on cereal, cheese, yoghurt etc already in her diet. She is a good eater and eats a wide range of foods.

However, I can understand why the doctor would be concerned about a toddler with faltering weight gain who is not drinking much milk. By the way, if I try to BF her more, she usually refuses.

I am tempted to ignore this doctor and carry on as we are. I can't see how dropping the BF to be replaced with cows milk (or potentially with nothing if she continues to refuse it) would be a good thing? Confused now :(

If she's already eating a wide range of foods and is eating dairy in other forms then I can't see any benefit in replacing your BM with cows milk. BF is superior to cows milk in a like for like comparison and if you're happy to keep feeding then you should do so until you both are ready to stop.
I would seek a second opinion because it is unlikely that drinking BM instead of cows milk is linked to her slow weight gain.

What if she doesn't like the taste of cows
milk full stop. If you stop bf she may still refuse cows milk and then she will have lost the only source of milk she was getting.
Have you tried a follow on formula drink? She might prefer that to regular cows milk.

I think at that age BM has a fat content of 11% whereas cows milk is about 4% so I can't really see why he is suggesting you stop either. The current WHO guidelines are to feed until they are at least 2 and longer if you both wish so obviously he isn't giving out information which supports WHO or NHS guildlines.

Keep with the bf and if they mention it again say that you wish to continue and could they help to support you in that.

When I said she doesn't take cows milk he said 'have you tried giving it in a bottle?', which for an 18mo seems like strange advice too...

I like to think I was pretty confident with my BF. But it's so surprising how such comments, especially from senior hospital paediatricians, can really knock your confidence in what you're doing :(

Can totally see why a comment like that can knock your confidence. While I'm not saying he is wrong as I'm not trained, if they tell you to stop bfing again I would seriously question what benefits cows milk offers over bm and if they could give you something to read on it.

It's sad that so many HCPs are giving out information which undermines full term bfing. I've been told more than once to stop bfing a child with diarrhoea which left me a bit as that goes against all the evidence.

Have you thought about talking to a BFC about this? They may be able to give suggestions to get her to up her feeds, even if its just to 2 like maybe having a bath together if that's possible.

It just doesn't make sense to me. She is prone to croup and has been in hospital twice with it, last time it led to a bacterial chest infection which she was in again overnight for. As croup is a virus, surely dropping the BM is the last thing I should do...

I have also lately had a few people mention to me that cows milk products can actually be a trigger for asthma, so that's something to discuss with the GP next week.

I will seek some further advice and opinions. We are seeing that many doctors, so it shouldn't be too hard! I also know a HV who has a background as a BFC so I will email her too.

Thanks so much. I know this is not just a BF issue as there is a medical dimension as well, so I appreciate people posting.

Poor sausage, that must be miserable for you and her.

Just remember, doctors learn sod-all about b/f - a brief mention perhaps in all that training. Same for nurses and HVs - possibly one lecture. A b/f mother knows far more about it. The doctor may know more about how to diagnose and treat children's illnesses but he is unlikely to know better when it comes to b/f - unless he's made an effort to learn more about it. Sounds like this one hasn't, otherwise he'd know b/m has higher fat content than cow's.

Plenty of babies take cows milk and BF so I don't think the BF has anything to do with it. Can you speak to a dietician and look at other milks to supplement your bf? Eg my ds doesn't have cows milk but took oat milk and coconut milk enriched with calcium while I was still bf him.

If he mentions it again I would point out that babies aren't supposed to have bottles past a year old, regardless of their contents. Surely he should know that as well.

If you want to continue bf then do :) it's far better fir her than cows milk and as already stated if she doesn't like cowsmilk then stopping bf is only gonna deprive her of her one source of milk. Toddlers are active and their weight goes up and down all the time. If it's really a problem then perhaps you could start maybe giving higher calorie foods instead like maybe cream in mash potato or peanut butter on toast along side porridge with full fat milk for breakfast. I woulda thought there's far more easily absorbed nutrition in breast milk than in anything else :)