Article in Sunday Times about harmful advice re: breastfeeding and growth charts.

[Piggiesmum]

Hope this works,
\link{http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2147863,00.html\here}

I'll stop feeling guilty now that ds isn't a 20lb bruiser.

Really interesting - thank you for posting the link.

My HV told me about this a few weeks ago cos ds2 suddenly dropped from 50th/75th centil to between 25th and 50th. She said that they do haev seperate growth charts for bf babies if they drop too far, but i was quite worried about his drop in weight gain until she told me that.

Thanks for that link very interesting lets hope they put it up in a prominent position in many health clinics! I gave up b/f dd1 because she lost a little weight and wasn't reasured about it in anyway - you know that look on their faces that fuels anxiety in a first time mum so I introduced formula at 5 months and the slippery slope developed. This time dd2 I know better not to bother going! She's 26 weeks and 14lb 13oz

these bloody 'centile' charts do my bonce in!

Isn't it obvious if your child is small/large for his age? are they otherwise healthy?

Why not just let them be? Stop bloody worrying!

Those bloody charts are just a source of worry or bring out the competitive 'my child is bigger than your child' mean streak in some mums. Waste of time imo.

Both mine were big babies (9lb 5 and 9lb 10) and the amount of people that said their child was 'way below' mine was worrying, if your child is 6lb or 7lb at birth, then of course it is going to be smaller!

It is not a competition and if the HV says that they are not gaining 'enough' weight it could put people off b/feeding.

unfortunately when my ds lost weight, the loss looked even scarier on the bf charts than on the ff ones. Actually, maybe I would have taken action earlier if I'd had the bf charts earlier, so good on em.

This isn't exactly news though is it??

lol at me and Jools with our 'bloody' charts

great minds etc....

xx

Wrong advice for 40 years, eh?

class

lol olive - I think that's the first time I've ever been told I have a 'great mind' on here - I'm going to print and frame the post

Interesting link Piggiesmum.
My DD has dropped from the 91% to about the 40% line and is bf and on a few solids at the mo (nearly 7 months old now). She was 8lbs 13.5oz at birth, now 16lbs.
I find it interesting that ff babies are supposed to put on weight faster. There are six weeks between my dd and a friends dd. My dd was nearly 3lbs heavier, and even now she's still 1 - 2 lbs heavier, despite my dd being bf and my friends ff. Will have to compare notes at one year old!!

yay - if this becomes a standard I won't have to avoid my HV

Oh you still will beartime. It will take that lot at least 30 years to catch up with current thinking. And then of course, current thinking will have moved on...

yeah I guess so

my HV calls the charts the bane of her life.

so was a bit confused as to whether to pay the slightest attention to them.

Hello, My HV four years ago was great by telling me the charts were designed for caucasian bottle fed babies and as mine was a breast fed half indian baby of course she wouldn't fit the charts.

Now trying to convince midwives that another small? 7lb baby is a good thing in a few weeks and I don't think the last one was remotely small.