Its official - only breastmilk for 6 months

[GRMUM]

I hesitate to post this after messing up on the special needs thread!But here goes...
guardian.co.uk/medecine/story/0,11381,953912,00.html

sorry but the links aren't working for me today. There isn't a lot of support for women who want to breastfeed here in Greece but milk only (whatever type) for 6 months has been the norm for many years here.

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how's the b/f going, e?

It'll be interesting to see how quickly HVs cotton on to this and actually SUPPORT this advice!

Call me a cynic!

It is the norm in the Netherlands as well.... but not in France or Belgium. US says that too + it says babies should be bf past 1 year old!

Too many feel they must wean at 4 months.... either by lack of correct advice/knowledge or because they are sure that this is what their child needs.... I ahve just spoken to a mum of a 4 months old (and 1 week) and she wanted to know what she should start with, we had a 20 minutes chat which led her to understand what are the signs of a baby needing to be weaned... and hers is not (and he is big!)

I BF long term too but I am amazed to see people's reaction - becasue to me it is completely normal to bf.... I mean between my milk and a cow's milk....

The WHO have said this for a while, I think the Government only took it up more recently as they have also extended Statutory Maternity Leave to 26 weeks. Before that they couldn't tell us to exclusively breastfeed for 6 months when we had to go back to work at 18 weeks or earlier. I'm not complaining as I think its great that they should be endorsing later weaning, and extending maternity leave, just a bit cynical. I wonder how many mums (especially working ones) will follow this advice strictly. I went back to work when ds was 6 months (I started some baby rice when he was about 5 months). I was expressing at work, but because he was on some solids he had dropped some daytime feeds. I can't imagine expressing enough milk at work to satisfy a baby who is on no solids or only just started the weaning process. I also think they may have suggested going to 6 months to try and delay some of the mums who start solids at 8-12 weeks. I guess they think by saying 6 months the average might stretch to 4 months.

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Ha Ha JanZ!

Oh how I wish I could have seen the face of the HV who assured me that the WHO recommendation of 6 months 'only applies to 3rd world mothers' as she switched on the news this morning.

Hope I bump into her next time I'm at the clinic. (I took not the slightest notice of her when she told me to wean at 4 months, BTW).

Keepingmum, I think more mothers would follow the advice if they were given the whole story, eg, the immaturity of the digestive tract, and other factors which I would have to look up properly in order to get straight. The trouble with these sound bites is that they tell us 'You Should' and 'You ought' without going into the many good reasons why.

I know the WHO organisation has long recommended 6 months - but how many of us have come across HVs trying to pressurise us into weaning too soon!

I agree about part of the Government's "conversion" is down to maternity leave being extended to 26 weeks. In Scotland though, we are pleased that b/f rate have just improved and now 34% are still b/f at - wait for it - 4 months! (I'm not even sure if that is exclsuive b/f or "b/f at all"!)

Droile - our posts crossed. You were one of the ones I was thinking of when I made my comment! Personally, I just avoided HVs - which is sad, as I may have come across some good ones and got some good support!

My HV looked at me blankly when I mentioned the WHO and said 'well, those babies must be very hungry'. I was actually giving dd - who was around 5 months then I think - the odd bit of mashed veg, and was mixed feeding but the HV pressed all these revolting leaflets on me about how I should be feeding her masses of solids. I have not been back since.

I think I must have been lucky with my HV, she was desperately trying to convince mothers that they didn't need to give their babies solids at 12 weeks. I'm sure she would have been supportive if I had insisted on waiting until 6 months with ds. I am going to try and exclusively feed until 6 months with this one (due July) but I would rather get the solids established before she/he goes to the childminder and I was planning on returning to work at 6 months.

Droile - I think we have the same HV!

Hope mine reads the article too, grrrr!!!

Felt very vindicated today - had been contemplating giving up bf (very reluctantly) due to many biting incidents (ds - 8mths) but he seems to have calmed down a little these last couple of days.
BBC are also running a breastfeeding feature here .
I wish I'd done the full exclusive 6 months - managed 5 1/2 months before friends and baby magazines convinced me that I was clearly depriving my very large ds and that he'd stop sleeping through any minute - he never did - ha!
Should the baby food manufacturers change their jar and packet labelling from 4 to 6 months?

bobsmum, 5.5 months is brilliant! As good as, I'd say.

thanks for posting that link - sadly I didn't make it the full 6 months without starting ds on solids but I did start at 4.5 months under pressure and then postpone til 5 and a bit months when he just didn't seem ready. I wish I had known this earlier. My mum and family were v concerned about ds health even tho he was gaining weight well. I think a lot of people get this kind of reaction so I really hope the campaign will be high profile.
It isn't just a first world problem though - I recently met someone who was horrified to hear my 6 month old was only just starting to eat. She tried to force feed him biscuits and then went on about how good packet food is compared to home made as it has lots of added vitamins etc. Sadly I think that this idea that shop bought food is better than homemade is gaining ground here - no doubt not discouraged by the multinationals who make the stuff.

I had to go back to work at 6 months and there is no way I could continue bf because of erratic hours, stress and the hassle of trying to express at work. I bf my ds until he was 4 mths exclusively. At around that time, he started to wake in the night and was always hungry. So I weaned him and he took to it straight away and has never looked back - we have had no feeding or health problems apart from the usual colds and teething troubles.
I have to say that seeing that article on the news yesterday about the exclusive bf made me feel very guilty and then a tiny bit annoyed. Its all very well but I am the breadwinner in our home and I have had to return to work full-time. DS drinks his formula well and doesn't seem to have suffered from being weaned at 4 months and changing from breast milk to formula at around the same time.
I feel enough guilt every day when I leave my ds at nursery, and really don't want to feel any more!!!

Interesting article in Mother & Baby this issue (and freebies) about how bf mums are legally entitled to breaks for expressing. They are also entitled to a quiet place to express - not the toilets!
If smokers are catered for in the workplace, then why aren't bf mums given more support?
Was also horrified by statistic in BBC article (linked below) where 50% of teenagers in Britain would be embarrassed by a breastfeeding mum!

This news had made me rather sad, for some reason, I exclusively breastfed dd for about 3.5 months, then on the advice of the HV introduced fruit purees. I think I introduced protein and wheat around 5 months. Dd's main source of nourishment was still breast milk, but I had been worried about her going to nursery, and refusing bottles....

I'm still breastfeeding dd at 16 months, but the volumes are minuscule now, and don't satisfy her... I had to take her a beaker of cows milk at bedtime, as she was still thirsty after the breast had run out.

I suppose I'm sad because dd will be my one and only, and I don't have another chance to get it right

Tesssie - I don't beleive that anyone wants you to feel guilty - quite the reverse, you did fantastically to b/f for 4 months!

What the change in guidelines should do is ensure that HVs etc give the appropriate support to mothers who want to/can feed for the full 6 months - although I am cynical that it will do so.

As you will see from some of the other examples, a lot of mums got hassle from their HVs for trying to b/f for "longer". In theory, these guidelines should change those HVs "advice".

It's about support - not dictating to you. For a lot of mums, it's just not feasible to continue - and they should be supported in that choice too.

Please don't feel guilty - you were/are doing the right thing for your dd, dp/dh and YOU in YOUR circumstances!

guardian.co.uk/medicine/story/0,11381,953912,00.html

There was a typo in the original

Tissy, you have done fantastically still b/feeding at 16 months IMO is something to be very proud of. It's the HVs that should be beating themselves up mine told me to start wean DS1 at 12 weeks rather than add more bottles I now know that switching to bottle feeding (had loads of problems feeding DS1) and holding back on the solids would have been better for him. With DS2 I had the old WHO advice only applies to the third world line from her and ended up weaning at 17 weeks (although took it very slowly) I don't blame my HV for this as I knew the score and should have put my foot down and tried harder but we were moving house at the time and I was just finding it all too much. Anyway we are still feeding at 11 months and I am delighted.

I also read some of the other articles related to the link and like Bobsmum was shocked at the teenagers bit. IMO breastfeeding needs to be more out in the open, don't hide away in smelly mothers' rooms and toilets, feed in cafes, parks, buses, shopping centres, waiting rooms, shops and hopefully we are not too late to get back to a culture where breast is not only seen as best but also the normal way to feed a baby and people won't bat an eyelid.

Tissy - don't you dare feel sad. I remember how hard you worked at keeping breastfeeding going and here you are still feeding at 16 months - longer than I ever managed. I feel so sad that my last baby stopped feeding at 15 months because I knew I would never be able to do it again. She was the only one I managed to feed exclusively till 6 months, mainly because I had the confidence of breastfeeding 3 babies before her. You have to be congratulated. You would be surprised the amount of milk your dd does still get. Just because she drinks a beaker of milk does not mean she is not getting anything from the breast. I don't know if I used this analogy before when posting to you, but it is like you going out for a meal. You might be full after the main course, unable to eat any more. When pudding comes, which is something different, you miraculously find you are hungry again. It is the same with the beaker of milk or bottle of formula for a younger baby.
Keep feeding and stop worrying

everyone has a separate pudding stomach - biological fact