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Weaning

Find weaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Weaning forum. Use our child development calendar for more information.

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Original poster

Why if hvs are not allowed to promote blw is it so popular on here?

25 replies

PrincessScrumpy · 09/12/2011 13:38

My hv is lovely but she said she's not allowed to promote blw as it doesn't ensure babies get enough vitamins and iron. On mn you would think everyone's doing it but she says it's rare.

FWIW I plan to puree but include finger foods - I'm far too controlling for blw and would worry about choking as I'll have twin babies to watch and a 3yo.

Just curious....

OP posts:

colditz · 09/12/2011 13:39

It's not rare at all, and my HV suggested it. I think maybe your HV is lying misinformed

ImpYCelynAndTheIvy · 09/12/2011 13:39

My HVs recommended BLW. I've never heard that they're not allowed to.

ruddynorah · 09/12/2011 13:40

Mine suggested it.

ImpYCelynAndTheIvy · 09/12/2011 13:40

They even give everyone a little NHS/healthy start booklet that recommends it.

HollyGoHeavily · 09/12/2011 13:41

My HV only taught us about blw- purees were mentioned in passing as something 'rather old fashioned'. There were a lot of surprised people in that weaning talk....

grumplestilskin · 09/12/2011 13:42

My HV ran the BLW course at the CC

ReadingTeaLeaves · 09/12/2011 13:48

Seems to depend on your area. I was also told by HV they couldn't recommend it over pureeing. But I know plenty of HVs who have recommended it elsewhere. FWIW we were seeing a dietician at the start of weaning because of allergies and DS had low iron. We were therefore advised to use purees along with finger food to ensure as much opportunity as possible to get extra iron in (I was BF). As with so many other parts of parenting, you have to look at your own situation, consider the advice and then make your own decision.

recall · 09/12/2011 13:51

I don't get her logic, my three hated eating off spoons and would have had much less nutrition had I not let them eat it themselves. My HV discussed it with us.

grumplestilskin · 09/12/2011 13:55

long term their nutrition will surely be much better if they are good at eating a wide variety of foods, textures, flavours, colours etc and have been allowed to naturally regulate their appetite and mimic adults who eat around them?

Obviously there are individual medical exceptions, but I've not come across a HV who IN GENERAL would recommend the puree route.

Plus pureeing often involves a lot of storage, heathing and microwaving which deminishes the nutrients. Fresh is obviously best

Original poster

PrincessScrumpy · 09/12/2011 14:00

Hmmmm - dd was weaned on purees and has a fab variety of foods that she eats - more than dh and myself and she's 3 so not sure on this. If you steam veg and freeze then they keep their nutrients - frozen veg can actually be healthier than supermarket shelves as they've sat there for so long.

I'm in Somerset and leaflet doesn't mention blw - it was printed Jan 2011. Must be an area thing... in Northern Ireland they encourage weaning at 4 months.

OP posts:

Dillydaydreaming · 09/12/2011 14:03

Blimey, I'm a HV and I positively recommend it! I did BLW with my son who is nearly 9 now when it was practically unheard of!

Think your HV is either misinformed or having to toe an employer led line! Bizarre!

FredFredGeorge · 09/12/2011 14:54

As I posted elsewhere, I've never seen an HV since I got the red book, so what they say would seem to be pretty irrelevant to me regardless. All along with DD we've looked for the easiest thing to do, just because generally the easiest is the most successful too. BLW seems way easier than anything else, so that's what we did.

TheChristmasTreeSurgeonsMate · 09/12/2011 14:54

I first heard about BLW from a pamphlet given to me by the NHS when I was still in hospital. Why's it so popular? I'm guessing because it's good fun and, depending on your own diet, particularly easy.

lilham · 09/12/2011 17:07

My HV recommended BLW to me too. We also went through it in our postnatal classes.

cowboylover · 09/12/2011 17:16

Mine said she was not allowed to talk about it and that is potentially dangerous and if it was her child she would not put it as risk like that!

No I don't see her very often!

LePruneDeMaTante · 09/12/2011 17:19

How on earth could they not get enough vitamins and iron from food?
Either pureed up or in pieces.
What a ridiculous statement.
I would have snorted at her.

lljkk · 09/12/2011 18:08

Why do people get such variable info from their HVs? Why don't they issue more standardised advice
Someone said that the Internet brings out the extremes, people who have had the most unusual experiences. That's why BLW seems common here, I reckon (but I barely know anyone irl who has even heard of it).

grumplestilskin · 09/12/2011 18:33

that's great princess, well done on your DD, Of course its the end result that matters

I guess its just that the puree people I KNOW do a batch on the weekend then freeze and microwave it through the week, pureed steamed veg would of course be packed with goodness, and still be if frozen and defrosted then warmed gently. I just don't personally know anyone that does that they all microwave

(and moan about spending a chunk of weekend making purees, when its so much easier to just steam some finger food and salmon or chicken or whatever as needed)

grumplestilskin · 09/12/2011 18:34

LLjk, just because they havent heard of it doesn't mean they don't do it, my mum had never heard the phrase baby led weaning but she fed me the same way I weaned DS. She just called it "feeding my baby"

lljkk · 09/12/2011 18:41

I probably had a lot of BLW-type habits, too.But most of us don't have a need to talk about it or "understand" it; it's the folk who wax on about it that are unusually over-rep'd online.

notcitrus · 09/12/2011 19:16

We got a HV-led parenting course that included a session on weaning that confused everyone (apparently there are three vital stages of weaning onto mashed food but purees aren't necessary but hand-held food is bad but real food is good...), and the HV leading that session claimed never to have heard of BLW when a few women asked and then said "that doesn't sound like a good idea" but then dithered when asked what she'd meant about real food earlier.

So when ds was weighed around 6 months I asked the sensible local HV for her take on weaning.
She did a big theatric shrug and said "You GIVES THEM FOOD!" - clarified to avoid whole grapes, cherry tomatoes and chunks of frankfurter, and salt and honey, and much sugar, but otherwise do what you feel like that gets the child used to food. Subtext - chill the hell out.

I did some finger foods and some mash, given ds made it clear that he wanted mash faster than he could manipulate the spoon so I could make myself useful and feed him, thank you.

Sibling4 · 09/12/2011 19:25

Mine told me to do it because I've got a giant baby

ecuse · 09/12/2011 23:29

My HV said not sllowed to recommend it because it is not current gov advice. Indeed when I asked about it at weaning class she rolled her eyes and said "there's always ONE who asks about BLW" and then said the thing about not being sure if they're getting enough nutrition.

ScaryFairy28 · 10/12/2011 20:58

It's what's recommended here but where I've just moved from 40 miles away they thought it was insane!!

RightUpMyRue · 10/12/2011 21:07

Lots of HVs will be up to date, interested and receptive to new ideas about child rearing whereas there'll be other dinosaurs HVs who are more old fashioned and traditional with their advice.

The trusts they work for should have clear policies and guidance on what they're recommending.

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