<The old growth charts were NOT solely based on artificially fed babies.
This is a persistent myth on Lactnet.  It makes me buggy that Lactnetters
perpetuate this myth.   Pat in SNJ<
Pat, I would like to refer you to  a article in Pediatrics "Time for a New
Growth Reference". Vl. 100 No 5 1997.  It states that the National Centre
for Health Statistics (NCHS) growth charts for children under 2 years of age
came from the Fels Longitudinal Study  from 1929 to 1975.--"the Fels curves
reflect the growth of children who were fed primarily infant formula and in
whom complementary feeding was often initiated before 4 months".  As a
result there is concern that NCHS curves are inappropriate for healthy
breast fed infants.  The article goes on to say that infants who are fed
according to WHO recommendations deviate significantly from the NCHS
reference.  The chart was so faulty that it caused  health workers to m ake
faulty decisions regarding the adequate growth of breastfed infants.
The difference between the words "solely" and "primarily" are a mute point
and the essential fact is that that the primary mode of nutrition was
formula in these infants. As a result there was an urgent need to do new
growth charts so breast fed infants growth patterns were accurately charted
on appropriate charts.
Marian Rigney RN

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