I’m asking the British Medical Journal to make it very clear to the press that the recent article is opinion and not fact.
If you have a moment here is the email address of the editor, Fiona Godlee – fgodlee@bmj.com and this is what I wrote, feel free to copy any of it and spread the word.
“Hi I am getting messages at Lactivist that Health Visitors are taking the “Six months of exclusive breastfeeding, how good the evidence?” piece as fact and that they are sending out letters to mothers advising them to wean at 4 months instead of the universally recommended 6 months. I do believe that the BMJ have the power to turn this around but you would need to issue a very clear press release stating that the article was observation and not research and that current advice still stands in this country as well as in the third world. This is urgent. I appreciate your time in this matter. Lisa Cole” This is the press release the BMJ sent out.Contact: Emma Dickinson
edickinson@bmjgroup.com
44-020-738-36529
BMJ-British Medical Journal
Is ‘breast only’ for first 6 months best?
Analysis: 6 months of exclusive breast feeding: How good is the evidence?
Current guidance advising mothers in the UK to exclusively breast feed for the first six months of their baby’s life is being questioned by child health experts on bmj.com today.
The authors, led by Dr Mary Fewtrell, a consultant paediatrician at the UCL Institute of Child Health in London, have reviewed the evidence behind the current guidance and say the time is right to reappraise this recommendation.
The researchers stress that while they fully back exclusive breast feeding early in life, they are concerned that exclusively doing so for six months and not introducing other foods may not always be in the child’s best interests.
In 2001 the World Health Organisation (WHO) made its global recommendation that infants should be exclusively breast fed for the first six months. Many western countries did not follow this recommendation but in 2003 the UK health minister announced that the UK would comply.
Fewtrell and colleagues support six months exclusive breast feeding in less developed countries where access to clean water and safe weaning foods is limited and there is a high risk of infant death and illness. However they have reservations about whether the WHO’s guidance about when to introduce other foods is right for the UK.
The WHO’s recommendation that mothers should breast feed exclusively for six months is largely based on a systematic review undertaken in 2000 that considered existing research in this area, say the authors. This review concluded that exclusively breast fed babies have fewer infections and that the babies experience no growth problems.
Dr Fewtrell argues that the evidence that breast milk alone provides sufficient nutrition for six months is questionable. She says there is a higher risk of iron deficiency anaemia if babies are exclusively breast fed and that there could also be a higher incidence of celiac disease and food allergies if children are not introduced to certain solid foods before six months.
The authors also fear that prolonged exclusive breast feeding may reduce the window for introducing new tastes, particularly bitter taste which may be important in the later acceptance of green leafy vegetables. This could encourage unhealthy eating in later life and lead to obesity, they say.
Fewtrell and colleagues conclude that it is time to review the UK’s guidance in the light of the evidence that has built up on this issue over the last ten years.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-01/bmj-io011311.php
Completely agree –
The orignal press release was sensationalist, despite the BMJ now saying they were not responsible for how the press reported the opinion piece..
They need to issue a clear statement, and request that their press colleagues report it clearly. Whilst HV’s/ HCP’s should certainly have more sense & better training, it’s clear that this isn’t always the case. Will re-share.
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Dear Ms Godlee
I am very concerned the effect the recent review will be having on advice given to new mothers on weaning their baby. I think it needs to be made extremely clear that they were not advocating stopping breastfeeding at 4 months and that the WHO still recommends six months minimum breastfeeding. Newspapers should be held accountable for misleading and misrepresenting stories, but I believe the BMJ also has a responsibility to set the record straight and stop the confusion that is occurring and the real possibility of harm being done to babies who are weaned too early. thank you
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Whilst I can appreciate that the media sensationalised this, it is clear that the BMJ have a responsibility for what they print. The comment piece has been interpreted widely as new guidelines. This needs to be clarified. It needs to be as high up the media agenda as the original piece was.
The message taken from the comment piece has been extremely damaging to women who breastfeed and their babies. There is NO NEW EVIDENCE and this needs to be made much clearer than it was. I suggest you review the wording of your press releases in future.
Unless this was what you were hoping would happen, given the often blase approach a lot of the medical establishment have with regards to breastfeeding.
Jo Wittams
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Really ? I am surprised. I work in an office with HVs on the south coast and we haven’t been asked to change our policy following this one off opinion piece. We follow DOH guidelines.
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