Pat in SNJ said,

> No food before 6 mo is very clearly
> stated in the AAP statement on breastfeeding, which every pediatrician
> should have tatooed on the palm of his hand so he will remember to glance
> at
> it and then say the right things to mom :-)
>
Yes, and long before it was in the AAP statement, as I remind mothers at
meetings, it was in The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding. I usually find it
easy enough to say that studies show that cereal will not help a baby
sleep longer or better, and as a result (quote statement of your choice
about recommendations).
I don't have trouble with that one. I do have trouble with those who
claim that "Public Health has always said that six months was the time
to start solids" or "All the literature says..." in an attempt to
conform to these "new" guidelines of six months. One of my colleagues
asked me why I had pamphlets by manufacturers of formula and baby foods
-- it's to prove that they are wrong, and that the guidelines have
changed many times over the years, and that lots of mothers are still
getting old information. Most mothers don't ask me to prove what I'm
saying -- the gray hairs and university-age son is enough to make claims
on how trends have changed over the years. What annoys me is people who
give these pamphlets out to mothers, and then claim they have always
known it was six months that was the ideal age to start solids.
As for cereal... there are many great approaches to Series Meeting no. 4
that help mothers to get away from the idea that it is never *necessary*
to give babies infant cereal. I enjoy the expression on people's faces
when I talk about introducing bananas, sweet potatoes, then meat. I talk
about how much easier it is to prepare what the rest of the family is
eating, reassessing the need for and ability to absorb iron from various
types of food and species of milk, etc.
Jo-Anne Elder-Gomes, PhD, IBCLC (still practising writing that...)

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