do benefits of bf substantially diminish after 6 months?

[homerton]

After a v.difficult start have managed to exclusively bf for nearly 6 months but now with weaning approaching am wondering if it is still as important to continue? My hv said that each day after 6 months bf becomes less effective as immunity building etc She suggesting that weaning onto food was a good time to wean onto formula. The 2 could go hand in hand. Not sure what to do? Is it worth continuing?

homerton, I wonder how brave/cheeky you are to respond to your HV by asking what these serious consequences might by, and how she justifies worrying about them? You might ask her what is wrong with being on the 25 centile - the centiles are all from healthy babies, after all. Is she only happy with babies on the 50th centile? She can only be happy one time in 50 then!

It sounds daft, but I have heard from mothers, and read on mumsnet, about doctors and other health professionals advice along these lines, that all babies should somehow 'aim' for the 50th.

x posted with bookthief

Great minds etc etc etc ;)

Surely the best way to deal with advice like this from a HV is to keep away. After the trouble I had with DS loosing weight whilst bf and all the conflicting advice I received, I have decided to keep away this time. Go with what you feel is best and above all dont worry about it. I am sure my stress with DS was the worst thing for him (I bf until 6 months despite weight loss btw). Being much more relaxed with DD and she is doing great. I cannot see me stopping bf at 6 months, I really enjoy it now.

So, if you enjoy it and DC likes it too (which is inevitable) then stick with it and keep away from the HV and the weighing scales.

Your HV should know that the red book growth charts are based on formula-fed babies. The World Health Organisation, which even a HV should have some respect for, did an extensive study to produce charts for breastfed babies. This is the link for girls and boys.

beanbearer - the UK charts are not based on formula fed babies. They are based on babies whose feeding is not differentiated. The problem with the charts is the way they are used by poorly-trained HVs.

Having said that, as homerton's baby gets older, she may well see she is 'bigger' on the WHO charts but the difference at the moment would be small.

Hiya tiktok - I've only got a red book chart for girls but at 6 months 25th centile is 7kg. On the WHO chart a 7kg baby would be midway between 25th centile (6.7kg) and 50th (7.3kg). As you say, by 12 months the difference is even greater: one in four babies, ie those between 25th and 50th centiles (so half of those that appear on the red book charts to be "underweight" using the common HV definition of anything below 50th centile) are actually above 50th centile for breastfed babies.
So my "underweight" DD apparently dropped steadily against the red book while in fact tracking along a WHO curve exactly.

Agree with others that your dc will not need formula during the day at 10 months.

As you say, if you start soon with water from a cup, then that will suffice, and you can bf morning and evening. Although I ended up mix feeding, a few of my friends missed out the bottle stage altogether - they all say it was so much less hassle.

You have done brilliantly to get this far, especially with the hv you've got. Good luck.