I heard several years ago that at the turn of the century, babies were
routinely fed primarily milk until after a year of age. For sure, with
the high infant death rates, breastfeeding was a matter of life and
death, and the more, the better the survival rate.

Having related that, I would share that I have come to a position of
watching the baby, and not the calendar. I believe pretty strongly in a
baby's ability to sense when he needs solids, and I believe in a mother's
intuition to help make that judgment as well. Familial allergies can make
all the difference in when a baby is ready to handle solids, and when I
watch babies, they seem to know what's good for them, and what's not.
Usually it is the ped and calendar that cause the ruckus, not baby's
actual health.

Before I comment further, I would like to mention a limited research
study that followed the effects of introduction of a solid on iron
absorption. The article is "Inhibition of Iron Absorption From Human Milk
by Baby Food," Am J Dis Child, vol 134, May 1980, p. 459 & 460. To quote
a summary of marginal comments, "The absorption from breast milk alone
was about four times greater than when breastmilk was administered with
[strained] pears at the same time. Despite the fact that breast milk
contains only a small amount of iron, the percent absorbed has a
signficant impact on iron nutiron because miok accounts for almost all of
the infant's diet during this period. .......   "it is  worth emphasizing
that there is a marked disparity between current recommendations and
common practices...."

This article focused on the practice of introducing solids before 4-6
mos, but I think that this info may well apply to the period beyond; why
would this change? We need to be careful in recommending *solids* for
*possible* iron problems, and we need to treat the baby for real
symptoms, not perceived symptoms. A hematocrit done in the office can be
useful if there are concerns, and the whole feeding situation should be
reviewed before decisions of management are made.  I refuse to believe
that nature messes up that often; so long as baby is calling the shots,
we are probably going to do better than if a calendar or our peers are
calling the shots.

Okay, I'll jump off the soapbox, now!
-Lisa

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Lisa A. Marasco, IBCLC                                /  [log in to unmask]
International Board Certified Lactation Consultant    /  [log in to unmask]

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