As you may have seen in the news there has been a review of research published in the British Medical Journal that suggests that babies should be given solid food from the age of 4 months. This one paper was funded by baby food companies and goes against the majority of the research available. You can see that paper here – http://www.bmj.com/content/342/bmj.c5955.full
The Analytical Armadillo has started to go through the report and break it down, Armadillo is famous for great research and accurate reporting.
http://www.lactivist.net/?p=2426
The press have reported it in a sensationalist way, claiming that earlier weaning can prevent allergies. My personal concern is that many mothers will take a 4 month growth spurt as a sign to wean onto solids and to stop breastfeeding. All babies are different but I am not convinced that mothers are taught the signs that babies are ready for solid – sitting up, lack of tounge thrust etc.
Anyway, back to the hard sell – I’ve got 40% off all the ‘I’ll wean when I am ready‘ slogan t-shirts, badges and postcards until the 20th January 2011 – lets get the word out there!
Lisa
“Any old Cow” Short Sleeved T 6-12 months 
“Any old Cow” Short Sleeved T 3-6 months 
Care Instructions – Shopping Bag 
Any Old Cow – Shopping Bag 
Mummy Milk Rocks – Shopping Bag 
How about those mothers, like myself, who had no such “teaching” but realised their children were very hungry, growing fast, had teeth and therefore were probably ready for something else?!
I breastfed both my boys until 4 months and then switched to soft food plus formula before I went back to work. They are fine. I am not a bad person.
By all means, support breastfeeding, but don’t get down on mothers who choose otherwise – and by the way, neither is it the BMJ’s fault that the paper was reported in a sensationalist fashion. You only have to look at what the “science reporters” did over the MMR jab; I hope they’re pleased that we’re now wrestling with the very real risks associated with measles outbreaks rather than the unproved and theoretical risk of MMR causing autism.
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Hi Heather, Of course you are not a bad person. You made a choice for your babies that you considered (and still do) to be the right one. I think maybe you have misunderstood Lactivist’s message:
“My personal concern is that many mothers will take a 4 month growth spurt as a sign to wean onto solids and to stop breastfeeding. All babies are different but I am not convinced that mothers are taught the signs that babies are ready for solid – sitting up, lack of tounge thrust etc.”
Current recommendations are that babies should not be weaned onto solids before six months. Lots & lots of babies have a growth spurt around four months & are much hungrier than they previously were. If mothers receive information about increasing milk supply at this time (breast or formula), then they will be *able* to continue giving a milk only diet to their babies until six months. If they do not receive that information, or if the recommendations become all muddied & confused by reports to the contrary in the press, then they may feel that the *only* option is to wean at four months. If it looks like the only option, it isn’t really a choice, is it?
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