WHO is currently making growth charts for exclusively BF babies for the
first six months of life.  The charts will follow these children throughout
the first two years, unless I am mistaken (and I very well could be).

This is a project that takes time.  Mothers and babies in many countries
were recruited at birth, followed for two years according to very stringent
criteria, with many, many measurements being made of the children.  Then all
the data have to be entered and curves developed.  I know that the centre
here in Norway used massive resources in providing BF support to the
participants, to keep as many as possible enrolled for the duration of the
study, and that has benefited all mothers in the area involved.

All of us have some idea of what these curves will look like, often based on
our experience with our own children.  But until all the data are in, none
of us know whether our own exclusively BF babies would be at the high or low
end of the normal distribution, and we should keep that in mind when making
statements about what is 'normal' for BF children vs. formula fed.  I have
two children, both exclusively BF on cue for about the same amount of time,
which was longer than usual for the communities I lived in.  Their growth
curves were as different as they could be.  BUT: one was exactly like my
own, and the other was exactly like my husband's.  Funny thing!  He and I
are quite different people and our children reflect that too.

The current curves in use are based on babies fed in all imaginable ways,
not just artificial.  As far as I know, we do not have growth curves
specially for artificially fed babies either.  I am *not* advocating we
develop them.
Rachel Myr
Kristiansand, Norway

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