I have just read this article in the Guardian and sighed when I read it. It refers to an article published a couple of weeks ago in the British Medical Journal (here is the article, but it requires a subscription/payment to read it all) where a research group (Fewtrell et al) questioned the policy in the UK to recommend exclusive breastfeeding of infants for six months. Just to be clear, exclusive breastfeeding means that for the first six months, an infant is given breast milk only: no solids, no formula, just breastmilk.
This follows the WHO guidelines, and the Australian government recommends the same. I should emphasise that the researchers are not recommending formula over breastmilk, and they are talking about the introduction of solid food, not formula.
What are they worried about? Well, the researchers are worried about links between late introduction of solids and iron deficiency, a potential increase in food allergies, and of coeliac disease.
I’m sure that this is going to confuse mothers even more. Any new mum knows that they are bombarded with a huge amount of advice from friends, families, and experts. I know that when I had my first child, I spent a lot of time consulting baby books and the internet for every little thing. But with my second child, I didn’t have the time, or inclination, and used a much more intuitive style of parenting.
I didn’t manage to exclusively breastfeed for six months, despite knowing that it was recommended, and despite having every intention to do so. My first child started solids at about five months, but my second was grabbing food from my plate at four months and I knew she needed more than breastmilk. I didn’t believe that something magical happened at six months of age that was missing at five and a half months, and so I did what I thought was best for my children – which is what mothers have been doing forever.
I’m curious about how many mums do actually manage to breastfeed exclusively for six months. I am very pro-breastfeeding, and had every intention of doing so, but for us, it didn’t work out and I did start solid food earlier (even though I continued breastfeeding for about a year with them both).
Did you manage?
I did breastfeed exclusively for six months – but my daughter was two months premature, so her adjusted age was 4 months when she started on solids. That was on the advice of my GP. I found that quite odd.
Hi there, and thanks for the comment. Well done on bf exclusively for 6 months, one thing I found, especially with my first child, was that there was a lot of pressure to start her on solids. When I mentioned that she wasn’t sleeping through the night, many people told me she was ‘hungry’, and she was also very small (still is) and again, there was pressure that solids would increase her weight. In fact, neither was the case: she didn’t ‘sleep through’ until she was about one, and her growth actually slowed down when I started solids! In hindsight, she really wasn’t ready until about 7 months. However, my second child was clearly hungry from four and a half months, took to solids instantly and thrived (though again it made no difference to her sleep).
Thanks again!
Really? I’d like to take a look at the article, but gosh! I exclusively bf’d my two for their first six months, and then gradually added solids. My 1 year old still prefers breast milk over most other foods. I’ve heard that breast milk does not have that much iron in it, but that the iron that it does have is much more bio-available than the iron in supplements and other foods. Did the article address this? Great blog, by the way!
Hi there,
Thanks for the comment, you make a good point, and that has also been my understanding: that while breastmilk may be lower in iron than formula (even though that’s not what’s being recommended here), the body is much more able to make good use of it. I’m trying to get hold of a full copy of the original article, but online I found this comment which refers to a small study on exactly that: http://www.bmj.com/rapid-response/2011/11/03/very-low-dietary-iron-intakes-normal-haemoglobin-levels-8-months-among-ful
So, these authors studied iron intake in breastfed babies upto 8 months (iron intake from both iron and food) and even though it was about half the recommended intake, there was no change in their haemoglobin level, ie they weren’t clinically anaemic. They suggest that perhaps we overestimate the iron requirements of babies as despite ‘low’ levels of iron, they don’t seem to be clinically affected (upto 8 months in this study).
Obviously, the guidelines remain the same, and exclusive breastfeeding is recommended until 6 months, but I think this gives mums confidence that perhaps if their babies are clearly ready for solids before this (after 4 months), then they’re not necessarily ‘harming’ them.
Well done for managing to bf exclusively for 6 months! That’s my hope with my third…
Thanks again for the comment!
D
Hmmmm. Thanks for the link. Seems like there are so many variables to consider. One baby/mother pair might be ready for and need solids at 4 months, while another pair might be ready at 8 months. I know that my two little ones were very different in their interest in solids. Maybe differences in gut maturation? Who knows.
I would love to see an analysis of length of breast feeding across human cultures and other primates. That might (indirectly) shed some light on the iron issue. Do cultures that have iron poor diets breast feed for longer? Do non-human primates face issues of anemia? This has probably been addressed by someone…
Thanks for the follow-up!
Oh! So that’s the reason why. Women, most especially mothers, must be aware of this important thing to avoid any abnormalities that may affect their children or babies.
-admin-
Both my children were breastfed until 3 and half (exclusively until 6 months). As my daughter has a severe peanut allergy (possibly life-threatening), I have read a significant amount of allergy literature and there seems to be some solid science around introducing solids earlier (especially pre-chewed). I wish I had introduced solids earlier. I am certainly glad I breastfed but would give anything to get rid of the allergy.
Report on the news this morning stated that they have rescinded their previous findings and now are urging women to exclusively breastfeed for 6 months, NO formula at all. I wish they would make up their mind. Doesn’t matter to me either way. We breastfeed. That’s it.
I hadn’t seen that, thanks for the update! I’ll go have a search online for it now. The original study wasn’t recommending formula over breastmilk, rather it said that solids shouldn’t be delayed until six months. Thanks for letting me know, it’s so confusing for parents…
D
Hello Dawn,
I breastfed for 6 months, it was a choice I made like lots of others that I soon discovered as a Mother did not necessarily make others happy. I think what I’ve learnt from having a child is you do what you think is best. I also had a child that screamed for 2 years straight. I tried everything but in the end what worked for me, was doing what I “felt” was right and that usually meant doing whatever it took to keep her calm. In hindsight I’m really glad that’s what I did. I also took most of my Mothers advice….she was usually right.
Hi Heidi,
Such a good point – usually trusting our instincts is the best thing to do! By doing what makes a baby calm, you can’t really go wrong…
Dawn