This has made me really sad, I just have to share it with someone.

[LadyVictorianSqualor]

the amount of misinformation on this thread that has been given by supposed HCPS

(can I hijack my own thread??)
Tiktok, could do with some advice on bfing and drugs over here if you get a minute.

Unbelieveble. I think if I had joined that Forum instead of Mumsnet, I wouldn't still be bfing. I can't believe how many posters have said they gave up bfing because they couldn't be giving their babies enough milk!!

It's interesting that although I reported some of the dodgy posts to Tesco, I haven't had any sort of e-mail response from them. Is it just MNHQ that actually communicate with forum users?

bouncingturtles, exactly!
tiktok, hunker, others, you have made a huge difference to me as well as others

MN rocks

I just want to go on those threads about wanting to wean 3 month olds as they are
'chewing their fists, dribbling and screaming'

and shout

EVER HEARD OF TEETHING???????

I found the saddest thing to be the mums saying their babies were too big for them to be satisfied with breast milk. Thier babies were obviously thriving on it - so who told them they couldn't do it? Who undermined them and let them down?

Also - did anyone else think it was odd that all the babies were on Cow and Gate?

I weaned mine at 16 weeks and bottlefed ds 1 from 3 weeks, ds 2 from 8 weeks and ds 3 from 20 weeks. They have all survived so far. Actually they are fit, healthy intelligent children. The guidelines re weaning changed after ds1 but I just did what I did the first time round with the others. The current guidelines re waiting until six months to wean did not make sense to me as with ds1 it was fine. I know plenty of children who have been solely bf for six months who have been less healthy than my own. Could it possibly that the current research is actually wrong? Or at the very least misleading? Guidelines change all the time. Had my ds1 been conceived six months earlier the guidelines would have been to wean at 12 weeks, who knows how he would have survived that....

talulatreefrog - the guidelines changed because of new research showing higher rates of diarrhoea, respitory illness, blood pressure, ear infections and obesity in babies who were weaned early. Obviously not all early weaned children will develop these problems, or even the majority of them, which would probably account for the reason why you haven't made the connection. It's not a simple 'do x and y will automatically happen' cause and effect mechanism. Life isn't like that - not in relation to health issues anyway.

I weaned my first at 16 weeks and my second and third at 6 months. I would say that all three of my children are 'fine' and 'healthy', but I still wish I'd waited to wean my first as I think she'd be even healthIER than she is now. At the very least weaning at 16 weeks simply wasn't necessary and I wish I hadn't taken the risk.

good post sabire

talula, no, it is highly unlikely the research is wrong. It comes from a large no. of studies of babies born in different settings all over the world, developed and developing countries....many thousands of babies in total.

Guidelines do not change all the time.

In the UK, the weaning guidance has never been '12 weeks' ever . You might have been told '12 weeks' but that is because some HVs consistently get things wrong.

About 30 years ago, there was guidance to wean between 3 mths and 6 mths. That's the nearest it's ever been to 12 weeks

Before the guidance changed to 6 mths (in the UK, this was 2003, so five years ago now), it had been '4-6 mths' for about 15 years.

Hardly 'changing all the time'.

Sabire am not sure how someone who is in full health can be "healthIER". When the recommendations were for 16 weeks it was not a "risk" it was simply when it was done. I do realise that health issues are not simply a case of cause and effect but I do think that each child is different and that a blanket rule is not necessarily applicable to all children.
Tiktok I stand corrected re 12 weeks, I may have been misinformed by my HV.Can you point me in the direction of the research please?

Here you are, talulah:

Kramer MS, Kakuma R. Optimal duration of exclusive breastfeeding. Cochrane Review. Cochrane Library, Issue 3, 2003

www.cochrane.org/cochrane/revabstr/ab003517.htm

This is still probably the best overview of the literature and of course it has the imprimatur of Cochrane - Cochrane reviews are pretty good stuff
www.cochrane.co.uk

There are many other papers, too, if you are interested.

Re a blanket rule: of course not all children are going to have the same needs and the same health outcomes, and some babies might show signs of readiness for other foods before or after the 6 mth guidelines. Guidelines are there so healthcare professionals, governments and society can enable the best health outcomes for their youngest citizens, not as a 'rule book' for individual mothers.

Govts need to know that enabling exclusive breastfeeding for 6 mths might mean changes in legislation regarding employment rights, for instance, or support for mothers to bf anywhere they happen to be, or laws regarding undemining of breastfeeding (such as formula promotion)...that way, society as a whole supports the best health outcomes in general, which has to be a good thing for our health services, for our taxes, and yes, for community well-being.

God,can you imagine being so desperate and lacking in confidence and support that you go on a bloody Tesco chat forum???

LOL @ moondog

What about a Lidl forum?

That would be even more desperate, I reckon....

so sad,all this stuff.I have a really pro-breastfeeding GP and even she said "are you sure she doesn't just want to stop?" about my seven month old bf baby on a nursing strike (for anyone else going through that,yes she did feed again after two days,it was sore ears/teeth).so there is a lot of mis-information out there. If I was younger and less confident about feeding and assertive about my baby i might have believed her and stopped trying to feed.

Is there really a Lidl forum???
L
M
A
O

Actually that would strike me as considerably more acceptable than a T*o one.

No, moondog......I just made it up!

Actually.......

Voila!!!

It's in German though.

Yikes!

That's amazing....I never thought to Google!

My German is holiday German only....is there anything for mothers and babies on there?

Wie komme ich am besten zum Bahnhof, bitte?

And...I'm done.

Shoulda paid attention...

Not very recent posts.

Someone is asking for help with sausages.

LOLOLOL

Good work ladies

oh my god
I am awake at 2am feeding my large 12 and half pounds today 5 week old with mt boobs AS is completely normal I haven't had 3 straight hours since she was born AS I fully expected!!
OH and I am a "farking" GP and would never EVER give such dangerous and old fashioned advice - lots of support and current evidence based guidelines delivered with a good dose of sympathy and EMPATHY as mum of 2 myself.....