"99% of babies weaned before 6 months"? is this true?

[HeidiHole]

My health visitor has just booked to come in three weeks time for my DS's 12 week check. (so he's currently 9 weeks)

She said "and I"ll be talking to you about weaning" I expressed surprise as I said that I thought babies weren't weaned until 6 months. She said that the guidelines are 6 months but "research shows that only 1% of mothers wait until then so if people may wean from 4 months onwards they at least like us to have the knowledge and do's and donts from 3 months ready for when baby hits 4 months"

I said oh Ok... but seeing as there is a history of IBD in my family (including me) and its even more recommended to wait until 6 months if thats the case, we'd definitely not be weaning before then.

She smiled and said well only 1% get to 6 months because mothers normally have this really powerful urge where they just KNOW that baby is ready and then they start.

So tell me, am I really that unlikely to "get to" 6 months? I thought it was black and white! What can possibly happen before then that 99% chance will alter that? Enlighten me!

I can only think of one reason and that is "baby seems hungry" but if he seems hungry I'd bet that more calorie rich milk (he's formula fed) is going to fill him more than half a pureed carrot! So that doesn't seem like a compelling reason to start early???

Most people I know weaned before 6 months tbh. I know in Glasgow the stats bear out what your HV say and a significant percentage of babies are weaned before 17 weeks.

Lots of reasons but probably mostly tradition as it's what family/friends did.

I'm always a bit when people say things like "look at all the allergies now that babies are weaned at 6 months". Are they bollocks.

I weaned both of mine at 6 months and seemed to be one of the only ones who did.

99% has clearly been plucked out of thin air though.

I don't know anyone who waited until 6 months.

I think it was that only 1% of babies ONLY have breastmilk until 6 months. So that includes formula, or a spoonful of baby rice on the day before 6 months. But yes both of mine were within that 1%. It can be done! To be honest I think a lot of people wean because actually they are a bit bored and its something to do, pureeing a load of veg (btw I would recommend looking into baby led weaning closer to the date). I was basically lazy and it was much easier to not offer food before 6 months - its just so messy and I couldn't be arsed! Um, I mean... I had done extensive scientific research and a meta-analysis of the academic papers.

I wouldn't be surprised if what she said is true.

I've weaned 3 dcs and only I only waited to 6 months with the youngest (five months for the others) and she is the one who has ended up with severe allergies.

In my experience, even people (like me) who were very happy to wait until 6 months found about 24 weeks that baby was grabbing food off plates etc and ended up being given bits and pieces before the magic 6-month mark. WHO guidelines are, as I recall, "around the middle of the first year" and DS showed all the NHS signs of readiness, so I didn't see the point in waiting for a date.

However, for everyone like me I also know someone who was shovelling in baby rice at 14 weeks to try to make them sleep, so who knows what those figures hide?

• Obviously I mean "so that excludes formula etc" D'oh.

90% of all statics are untrue.
Also, not sure of the facts of this but my HV and Breastfeeding support mentor told me that they changed recommendations for weaning from 4 months to 6 months as mothers often began weaning before the suggested time.

The 1% make it to 6 months exclusively breastfeeding research was in 2005, according to this old Guardian article.

1% of people are exclusively breastfeeding at 6 months according to the most recent Infant Feeding Study, so that means that by 6 months 99% of people have given either food, formula or other drinks to their babies.

I don't think this necessarily correlates to "99% have started weaning before 6 months", but I can see where she probably got the idea from.

But the argument for "its tradition and its what my mum/aunt/grandma did" surely does't apply when you think that the new guidelines say 6 months, and babies used to sleep on their front and the new guidelines say they should sleep on their back and people LISTEN to that one, despite mum/aunt/grandma putting baby to sleep on their front. Why is tradition relevant to one not the other?

I can't get my head around it.

yes I think its like mrsjamin said, its about being exclusively bf so even those with a few formula top ups now and then would be excluded. so none of mine would be in the 1% even though i didnt wean 2/3 them on food til 6 months (the first i did 4 months)

I don't think the attitude of your hv sounds too good though! They are supposed to be encouraging people to wait til 6 months she's almost making it out like oh no-one really waits, as if its unrealistic and silly to wait??

We waited till 6 months with DD. It didn't occur to me not too and she wasn't that interested in food. I just figured why give myself more mess, more washing up, more stress to do something that's not recommended anyway...! Most people I know waited till 6 months or thereabouts.

Here - this is the latest detailed info that we have (the full results from the 2010 survey have not been published yet)

www.ic.nhs.uk/webfiles/publications/ifs06/2005%20Infant%20Feeding%20Survey%20%28Chapter%207%29%20%20Introduction%20of%20solid%20foods.pdf

To. Not too.

The thing is that lots of people wait until very nearly 6 months in my circle of friends, but do it when convenient eg we did it at 23 weeks because we were going on holiday for the week and so to have my and DH there at the same time seemed sensible and I couldn't see that 5 more days made any difference. Technically though that probably means I wouldn't be counted in the 1%. Most of my friends did wait until at least 5.5 months and then did it on a long weekend, or when going away or when their DH happened to be off work or some other random reason!

if you KNOW baby is ready then you go with yout instincts. Just like very few babies are actually born on their due date, so very few are ready to wean at exactly 6 months. 23 weeks here. when you see dc putting everything in their mouth, watching your every mouthful, hand-eye coordinTion, sitting up and all yheir other cues then you KNOW. I wouldnt waiy for an exact number of weeks anymore than id cross my legs at 39 weeks and say 'i cant be in labour!'

I think because there is still so much bollocks talked about babies "needing weaning" and false "signs of readiness" being bandied about which - although no longer supported in NHS literature - aren't really being quashed by professionals. In fact most HVs (anecdata alert) seem to have totally random and mixed up ideas about weaning age. From some of my own/friends' experience:

• The guidelines are to do with allergies. If you've introduced formula it's safe to wean from 5 months, because they've already been introduced to an allergen.

• Babies gain weight quicker when they're on solids.

*wait not waiy

I wasn't in the 1%

Am a big proponent personally of strictly BLW because if they can't physically do it, they're probably not ready. Plus DS was crawling and physically stealing food by 5 months so it was pretty hard not to wean him.

"when you think that the new guidelines say 6 months, and babies used to sleep on their front and the new guidelines say they should sleep on their back and people LISTEN to that one, despite mum/aunt/grandma putting baby to sleep on their front."

Weeell, I suspect a good number of people don't put their babies to sleep on their backs. The advice is also to keep the baby in the same room as you for 6 months and a good percentage of people don't do that. People pick and choose depending on what seems important, what suits them, what other people did.

We waited until six months and all the mums I knew at the time did the same. DD didn't really eat until 8 months.

I'm the only person I know who waited until 6 months.

I did lay my baby on her front though!

I waited until 6 months, he was EBF. It wasn't hard. We did BLW and he started eating straight away.

I'm still bf my dd who's 22 months (of course she's eating proper food too!) but we wouldn't be considered in the 1% of exclusive bf because she's had a few bottles of aptamil for various reasons.

I bf my DS till the same age too and he won't be in that 1% either as he had formula on day 4 after screaming in hospital forever (I was a csection). The mw came to my room and said 'choose one bottle'. And I fed it to him and he fell asleep.