Have the WHO changed their recommendation to wean at 6 months?

[neverquitesure]

I can't seem to find anything to support this but my MIL said it was in the news last week that the World Health Organisation had admitted they'd made a mistake on the wean at 6 months advice and that parents were being told to go back to the 'traditional' weaning age of 4 months.

I asked whether she meant the independent study that hit the press in January but she said it was definately the WHO and they were admitting they'd made a mistake.

My youngest is nearly 1 now so it's all academic really but I'd be very interested to know.

I haven't heard anything.

www.who.int/features/qa/21/en/index.html

Still 6 months according to the WHO website.

Dc3 hasn't heard about this, she is finally eating properly at 9 months. I'm glad I've only spent 3 months waving a spoon at her zipped up mouth rather than 5.

Nope, it is 6 months. There was a review that questioned this and the media got very excited, but the WHO conducted a much bigger review of many more studies when they made their guidelines.

I believe the wording is something like "about halfway through their first year". Some babies are ready a bit sooner, some a bit later. DS started BLW at 5 months as he started helping himself off my plate. Some babies aren't interested in solids until 8 months or more.

I know a lot of people won't agree with this but on a recent weaning course I went on run by a Children's Centre, they said the guidelines ARE coming down to 18 weeks. My DD was 19 weeks when I was invited to attend by my HV and we started weaning the week after.

She takes a huge interest in food and seems to be really enjoying it. She's just coming up to 6 months now.

They're coming down to 18 weeks? That seems a bit random. I wonder how the children's centre knows in advance of the NHS announcing anything?

The HV doing the weaning course at our CC said that the WHO guidelines were 'after 17 wks but no later than 6 months'. I asked how that advice was supposed to fit with the advice to breastfeed exclusively until 6 months ( I wasn't being difficult, I just didn't understand). HV didn't have an answer for that one. I think I was then marked out as 'the one who asks tricky questions' as she avoided me for the rest of the session