HV has told me I need to give cows milk

[NAR4]

Baby had his 8 month check yesterday and after checking he was eating a varied diet and was still breastfed, my HV said i should give him cows milk with every meal, to ensure he gets enough calcium. Just rather annoyed at being given such nonsense advice, especially when I know she has received training to support breastfeeding.

Pointed out to her how this was incorrect, human milk is obviously better for him than cows milk, since he is not a calf and calcium is in plenty of food, as long as he is having a varied diet. She still insisted that it was advised once the baby reached 6 months.

Surely this isn't general advice being given out and it was just her?

I would complain, nit sure who to, hopefully someone will be along soon who can point you in the right direction.

Report her, breast milk or formula till 1, then you can change to cows milk if they like it. I didn't and drank breast milk till 13 months then got calcium from food and am fine.

You can use cows milk in cooking from 6mths (ie - if making cheese sauce) but not the way it sounds like you've been advised to (& I speak as a comm nurse on a HV team who does dev r/v's - is uncommon for HV's themselves to do them).
Would suggest if concerned about calcium to get a good multi-vit supplement with vit d in it to ensure bubs is able to absorb all the calcium available to them. HTH x

Not sure who I would report her to. I too was annoyed at the thought of her telling other mums, who might follow this advice.

No concerns from me about my baby's calcium intake, it was just a bit of unsolicited advice that she gave me.

Help visitor is a moron. Yes you can use milk in cooking but giving babies it as a drink ensures they do not drink enough breastmilk which has the right balance of minerals for them including calcium.

Report

Just to say I was given this advice but in a much clearer form. I think the HV has confused you with talk of milk. What she means, I think is, that it is advisable to use some form of milk product like cheese, yoghurt, white sauce in cooked food, as well as providing formula or breast milk to drink. Some babies fill up on solid food and don't take in enough calcium because their liquid milk intake drops. So that's why she gives this recommendation to avoid mothers just giving too much stodge.

So for example, macaroni cheese might have cows milk in it, lasagne, leek and potato puree, mashed potato, rice pudding, semolina, mini cheeses, lentil dahl with grated cheese. Baby porridge might be made with cow's milk. Fish pie made with white sauce. All those are nutritious foods for babies employing cow's milk, not formula or breastmilk. They are additional to formula and breastmilk but would give the baby a balanced intake of protein carbs vitamins for his age. He shouldn't just be having milk to drink, or he would then fill up on milk and take no solids.

It is a balance between solids and milk to drink.

Some people do take calcium from other sources, ie: green veg, sesame seeds, mashed sardines. But in most cases it is easier for HV to suggest using cow's milk in cooked food. Unless you have problems with dairy products, when of course advice would be different.

I breastfed my children for a long time. But I still used cow's milk in cooking, as they had no lactose issues.

FWIW I breastfed mine before lunch and after, 4pm snack, bedtime, nightime once, breakfast, midmorning, and they still ate lots of different foods at lunch and tea. My advice is to feed more often perhaps than someone who is bottlefeeding formula, because I think you can't reduce the intake of breastmilk to fixed times. I can see that what she said may be to do with worrying that you may only be feeding occasionally, not enough, or want to reduce night waking - ergo getting more milk into baby at mealtime becomes a priority from a HV angle. But if you think through her view point and deal with the issues from your own end of the telescope you can weigh up how much milk the baby is getting from you, and how much extra calcium he might need from other sources, if any..A baby that wakes frequently in the night at that age might be asking for more nutrition, then again he might be just not settling for other reasons.

HV's see things from many angles, but then come out with one size fits all advice which is can feel all wrong. But it is important to see where they are coming from in the first place and their reasons for giving that advice, rather than just assuming they are wrong. Discard advice yes, but understand why she gave it.

She gave it because she misunderstands current guidelines. Call up the team leader and complain.

As you can imagine, there might be mothers who say they are breastfeeding but mostly feed their babies the wrong foods (chips, pizza, plain pasta) So it is part of HV training to remind mothers (in your case unnecessarily) that cow's milk is part of a balanced diet, and to encourage them to go on giving their babies milk of one kind of another in their meals. People do get the wrong end of the stick and just stop giving their babies toddlers the right food. Bad nutrition IS a problem. Children are filled up on chips, crisps, biscuits, squash, sausages. Cow's milk is not such a bogeyman in comparison to these foods, and if you can get mothers to use it in cooking everyday meals their food IS likely to have a more balanced intake. Not many people find it easy to give their children mashed sardines/sesame seeds and broccoli. That is WHY the HV is banging on about cow's milk. Don't flame her for it.

I understand what your saying and maybe she gave the advice she did because she knew my baby fed a lot in the night. She did say to give him a drink of cows milk with every meal though as well as add it to cooking.

ignore her. say 'yes' and carry on doing your own thing. keep cow's milk off his list, it stimulates mucous production.

Nar well then that does sound rubbish. Drink of cow's milk Total rubbish. Breastfeed him more in the day if necessary, but you don't need to give him additional milk feeds unless something was wrong with his weight and health, if you are already breastfeeding, and giving sufficient nutritious solid food.
Rabbit Lots of us thrive on dairy, although some people are lactose intolerant. I don't think cow's milk per se is a bad thing, just as a substitute for formula or bm.

And that is why op should complain because cow's milk is an inappropriate drink for 8 month old babies and this is all the more true if it is given at every meal.