In a message dated 8/14/99 11:25:29 PM, [log in to unmask] writes:

<<
As I understand it, the directive not to use straight cow's milk
before 12 months (and that is what is advised in Australia too) is
based on the fear that mothers will give whole bottles of cow's milk
as 'meals', just as they did earlier with formula, and as someone
else pointed out, this can lead to nutritional deficiencies if they
are eating little else.
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Joy Anderson >>
Just to clarify, Dr. Jack's comment that using straight cow's milk instead of
formula at six months was not for babies still getting human milk.  I doubt
that he would suggest that there is a nutritional need for any other milk,
ever, for the still breastfeeding baby and toddler. He was saying that for
babies who are formula fed (as most are in Canada and the US at six months),
that there is no research that says whole cow's milk is any worse than
formula from six to 12 months AS A MILK, not as a baby's whole diet.  So the
admonition (based on fear, as Joy says) not to use cow's milk until 12 months
may be in order to "prevent" parents from using tons of cow's milk as the
baby's whole diet, but for a baby who is on a full mixed diet, cow's milk is
no different than formula nutritionally.   Certainly, babies who are drinking
a half-gallon of cow's milk a day at 8-9-10 months of age (and eating little
else) are at risk for anemia, but babies who are eating meats, grains, beans,
veggies, and fruits plus drinking milk in a cup as a beverage can be
perfectly healthy and well-nourished.  And babies who drink a half-gallon of
formula a day at 8-9-10 months of age (and eating little else) may not be
anemic, but that doesn't make them well-nourished ... I worry little about
breastfed babies at that age who are "eating little else" because the milk
that they *are* drinking is the perfect milk for them no matter what their
age, and is still preferable to any other milk.

Lisa Jones, LLLL in Wellington, HOT south Florida, USA

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