On Sat, 26 Oct 2002 02:08:09 EDT, Jay Gordon <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>I tell the new moms in my office how happy I am to have an overflowing
>practice so I can come "out of the closet" and tell them I believe in NO
>solids during the first YEAR of life whenever possible.  The quasi-science
>about iron deficiency and so on has no firm science upon which to base
>itself.  Supporting exclusive nursing for that first year--while retaining
>flexibility about the six-month-solid-rule for those families who need
>it--let's people know where I (we?) stand.  I don't believe in applying
>hemoglobin values from the book to healthy breastfed babies any more than I
>think growth charts are worth the paper they're written on.

I have had some mothers tell me that they are delaying the introduction of
solids until after 12 months in order to avoid the development of
allergies.  In the past I listened to these moms, asked questions, and
provided information to other mothers in the group about the LLL and AAP
guidelines which support the introduction of complementary foods in the
middle of the first year.  Typically, the mothers who have told me they
plan to delay solids until one year had a strong family history of food
allergies.  However, at one point last year, it seemed that I was hearing
from more and more moms who were taking the stance that they planned to
continue exclusive breastfeeding past 6 months even though there was no
family history of allergies.

Then I was listening to some lectures on tape from the 2001 LLLI conference
in Chicago.  On one tape, the lecturer (can't remember who) said there was
no evidence to support the idea that delaying the introduction of
complementary foods would help the baby avoid allergies.  It might delay
the development of allergies, but at two years of age, the advantage would
be gone.  Then I also listened to a lecture at the same conference by Dr.
Nancy Krebs, MD (a pediatric nutritionist at the University of Colorado)
who was talking about the micronutrient needs of the breastfed baby.  Her
research has been related to zinc deficiencies in infants.  She said that
it is important to introduce complementary foods at around 6 months due to
the infant's need for both iron and zinc which can no longer be sustained
by exclusive breastfeeding.

I wrote to her and asked what she thought about delaying solids to avoid
allergies and she recommended strongly against that.  She wrote, in
part, "when I talk about zinc & iron, I always note that LLLI recommends
using meat as an early complementary food, which of course is an excellent
source of both iron & zinc, as well as protein. There seems to be, for many
women a sort of idyllic impression that infants can be vegetarian, or semi-
vegetarian, or maybe just follow the “prudent diet” – eating primarily
fruits, vegetables, and breads/crackers, with maybe some yogurt thrown in.
Yet this time of their life is exactly when they need high quality protein
& they clearly need micronutrients, and this is NOT the time that they need
to worry about heart disease (or even future heart disease, at least not at
the expense of meeting their nutritional needs).  There is no question that
human milk, by sometime after 6 mo, has less & less of both of these
minerals, and maternal diet will not alter that."

I am interested in your views on this, Dr. Gordon, and others on the list.
I continue to have mothers in my groups and in help calls tell me that they
delay solids past six or nine months.  I have great respect for you, Dr.
Gordon, and I am interested in your thoughts.  Have others had the
experience of working with moms who delay solids to avoid allergies?  What
are the advantages of exclusive breastfeeding past six months?  I realize
you are not advocating that all moms do this, Dr. Gordon.  When do you
consider it to be appropriate?

Sara D. Furr, MA
LLL Leader
Lincoln, Nebraska USA

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