Exclusive BF for 6 months may be harmful

[Longtalljosie]

Oh bloody hell

The problem is it's only one study but will be seized on even if later it's put into context.

The other problem is the way it implies that breastfeeding is in some way a problem.

The third problem is the possibility they might turn out to be right, because I loved BLW and want to do it again...

I can hear certain members of my wider family from here...

coeliac disease is also inherited and runs in my husbands family which is why I breastfed so long....I just think a mother should do whatever she thinks best for her child whether BF, FF, wean a bit earlier if a very hungry baby or later if not interested!

Oh god, has this been reported in the Daily Mail yet? If so, I expect a phonecall from MIL very shortly...

Yes it's very difficult to use your common sense and to parent instinctively because there is so much advertising that influences us, and of course other parents who have influence.

I don't know why were are surprised by this latest research. Every generation has a different way of doing things, and all you can do is the best at the time - following the best research and latest advice.

I'm sure when my children are parents they will do things very differently to me but at least I will be able to say I didn't just make it up as I went along (of course I do sometimes) but mostly I follow the latest advice as best as I can.

God I loathe weaning! Why anyone would want to spend an extra two months cooking, feeding, wiping, cleaning is beyond me . Purées make me feel a bit sick too so I was so relieved to discover blw.

"Why does the report say that breastfed babies may benefit from earlier weaning onto solids? The conclusion should surely be that ALL babies may benefit?"

It might be responding to the phenomena whereby BF babies are generally weaned later than FF babies.

From what i understand most formula fed babies are weaned between 17 and 20 weeks (sorry i cant quote where i got that from, i was reading an article on weaning when i was getting ready to start with DD and that fact has stuck in my head though now cannot identify exactly where it came from), breastfed babies generally start later.

I know that amoungst the other mothers i know this has certainly been true.

I posted also under Feeding ...

See from today's AOL home page (News):

always-best/1513544

Headline: Breastfeeding 'not always best' - big letters, emboldened

scroll down, past photo, and first lines are:
"Breastfeeding exclusively for six months is not necessarily best and may put babies off some foods, experts have said. UK guidelines are for women to breastfeed for the first six months of a baby's life before introducing solids."

You may or may not agree with the authors of the report, Institute of Child Health, University College London, but they are NOT saying that breastfeeding is not always best!! A totally misleading headline. I have alerted the IofCH to this and reported this to the Press Complaints Commission via their website. One of my comments - very polite/restrained - was not published by short, pithy DH comment was.
More action required till they pull it down and replace it with something less misleading/distorted?

www.news.aol.co.uk/discuss-feed/breastfeeding-not-always-best/1513544

is the full address for last post

I've read through that synopsis of the study. What surprised me was the lack of caveats in the conclusions, even though as I was reading through the synopses of the studies which were being considered, I could see obvious social factors which would affect outcomes.

We really need Ben Goldacre, you know. His thing is comparing the comparative strength of studies. That Swiss one on gluten - Joanna Moorhead calls it flimsy. Is it? It's treated as gospel in the conclusions box at the end.

In the discussions of relative studies they talk about the self-selecting nature of 6 months breastfeeding (ie the fact that if your baby is satisfied with breastmilk alone, you aren't as likely to introduce solids, but if s/he does seem really hungry, you're more likely to do so). That would imply that of those of us who've waited six months, we're more likely to be OK because it was possible, iyswim. That someone who weaned at 20 weeks saying "my baby was hungry" might well be right and had they insisted on waiting, they might have been more at risk.

And the fact is - since the UK doesn't screen for low iron, they don't actually know if there's an iron problem or not.

My blood is boiling just reading all of these threads, i dont think I could stomach watching these smug idiots on TV undermining breastfeeding. How dare they??
Even if there is an iron issue (which I still dont feel there is) the many, many benefits of breastfeeding compared to formula outweigh all of this anyway.

I had my DD Dec 2002, she was BF exclusively for 16 weeks then weening food and BF months 5 and 6. This was advise at the time. I ate nites during pregnancy and BF (didn't know I shouldnt) and she has a nut allergy.

I have two children, one is 20, the other is 5.

With DD1, i was told to introduce food at 4 months. I did, my 20 yo daughter is fine and healthy with no allergies, despite the fact i have them. I breast fed for eight weeks.

When i had DD2, i told my midwife that i introduced solids to DD1 at 4 months, she was horrified. Which was strange really, because she was my midwife for DD1!!! She didn't know what to say when i told her i was following her advice the first time around.

I had lots of problems with bfing DD2, so i mix fed (Breast and bottle) until she was 6 months and then just bottle. I introduced solids at about 5 months ish, but not properly until 6 months.

I believe i did what was right for both of my daughters actually. My friend has started weaning her little boy at 4 months, he might have been 13 weeks, i was a little because i have been pushed that way - but he is fine, and obviously needs and enjoys it.

Strikes me that big part of problem here is title of report. I realise that it's suggesting that 'official recommendation to bf ex for 6 months' might better be 'official recommendation to exclusively bf for 4/5 months' - but it's not really about bf-ing, is it? It's about when to intro solids.

They should/must have known how it would be spun and what headlines would imply.

Cant believe the stupid bitch on radio two who phoned in and said 4 months feeding will encourage the pasty and crisps mums will start early! FFS

Well as usual guidelines are rarely set in stone. I have been quite rude to regarding giving my babies solids before six months.

I followed my instinct and advice from HCPs. I was only giving tastes from a spoon to begin with of pure vegetable or a bit of fruit, not burger and chips.

Oh and breastfed both of mine until 12/13 months. However when my dd was sitting on my knee and grabing my spoon from me and trying to eat from it I really felt she was ready for a wee taste.

Both my kids are great eaters and my dd completely feeds herself at 18 months. No allergies or problems.

Of course this is just anecdotal but the guilt I have felt by being berated by baby led weaners

Well this gives me hope that I might not have done the wrong thing after all

The more I think about this study, having read the synopsis linked to above, the more concerned I am. It seems like a pull-together of all the studies in favour of earlier weaning and seems quite dismissive of confounding / social factors. It also seems dismissive of previous positive evidence, and indeed the basis for the WHO recommendation, which I've never heard criticised before.

The iron point seems weak to say the least - if previous evidence that babies usually have enough iron stores to last definitely six, and possibly as many as 12 months are correct, then how can this be an issue and if this evidence is wrong, then how and why?

what a load of bollocks and clare byam cook was on bbc breakfast banging on about using formula to get babies to sleep through... good grief...

'when he cried his mum gave him a mars bar to eat'

f* me i've heard it all now

UNICEF response to BMJ report

AFAIK Formula DOES help babies sleep through - it is less digestable so takes longer to digest so they fell fuller longer. Whether this is DESIREABLE is another matter.

Similarly - this review has shown the things it has shown. The reviewers can't just sit on it because they know it will be misused by the media - they have a responsibility to present their findings.

It's a pretty cautious study really - not surprising it is being talked up so much in the media, given the obsession with baby feeding and sticks to beat parents, but they're not saying the current guideline is definitely wrong - just that the evidence in favour of it may not be 100% and that more research would be good.

The conclusion says "...six months of exclusive breast feeding may not always provide sufficient nutrition for optimal growth and development." - that's looking at all babies all over the world across all social strata and is very different from saying "does not provide...".

My sis in law B/F for 2 years, weaned at 6 months. Her son has suffered from severe asthma and eczema since she stopped B/F.

I think all this stuff about natural instincts often just means recreating your own upbringing. I remember when my son had his 2 month innoculation I had this thought that he was upset I should give him a food treat. Obviously i didn't but that was probably something my parents did. No one has a natural instinct to buy a blender and ice cube trays and freeze portions of pureed fruit and veg.

I much prefered leaving it till 6 months. I have done it at 15 weeks to cis of hv advice. She said it would help with reflux. It just made more colourful vomit Much less hassle leaving it . I can't see how it could
be so much harder. I had a 99th percentile hungry boy too.

On the other hand I could never had waited for them to be sitting up completele unsupported either. Neither of mine did that before 8 months.

My sil ff ate nuts in pregnancy and weaned using loads of fruit at 4 months and her son has nut and fruit and fish allergies now. So the whole thing is so complicated