OK, you wanted "history"....

 

"Today medical scientists are talking about _excessive_ intake as well as _deficient_ intake.  They find that infants can be overfed as well as underfed.  Overfeeding can result from premature introduction of solid foods.  Breast milk, on the other hand, gives the best assurance of proper nourishment because it is Nature's complete for your baby.   It is perfect food for the first four to six months, and therefore there is usually no reason for adding any foods to the breastfed baby's diet in the early months."

 

Page 120 of _my_ first copy of the Womanly Art of Breastfeeding – 1967 (I don’t own earlier editions, but this was the information shared in the groups I attended in 1971 forward).

 

La Leche League had not only 7 founding mothers, but Medical Advisors Dr. Herbert Ratner and Dr. Greggory White - it grew to a Medical Advisory Board (eventually The Professional Advisory Board) who reviewed the materials and information provided.  However, as the audience was mothers, not professionals, their first versions did not provide references - now they do.

 

It was not until the 1970's that La Leche League published the Concepts - and the 4th read: 
"For the healthy, full-term baby breast milk is the only food necessary until baby shows signs of needing solids, about the middle of the first year after birth."  

 

By the 1981 edition, they were also blaming early introduction of solids caused by 
"...the spirit of rivalry and competition among mothers (and sometimes doctors) to have the biggest baby who ate the most foods in the largest quantity at the earliest possible age.  This  was promoted and encouraged by the baby food industry.  Mothers were given the impression that there was an advantage in giving solids early."

 

....and 2 additional reasons given to avoid early introduction (besides the earlier one, which was still valid) were:


"...you want to maintain your milk supply and the more solids the baby takes, the less milk he will want; the less he takes from the breast, the less milk there will be..."

And

..."the younger the baby, the more likely it is that any foods other than breast milk will cause food allergies. "

 

The current _Womanly Art of Breastfeeding_ (2010) is a masterpiece written by Diane Wiessinger, Diana West and Teresa Pitman - women who not only have in-depth knowledge about breastfeeding but also know how to communicate well with mothers – and make no mistake, this is a mother-to-mother book, as are the La Leche League meetings.  (Yes, I had to put in a plug.)

 

Their Chapter 13 on "The Scoop on Solids" includes 20 references,  11 of which address what I think is the biggest reason to avoid early solids: “introduction of complementary feedings before six months generally does not increase total caloric intake or rate of growth”

-        Thus “complementary” foods actually become “supplements” and replace mother’s milk – reducing not only nutrition but also exposure to all the other factors we now know to be in breast milk to help promote the development of baby’s internal organs and brain, and protect the baby from infection, etc.

 

It also includes a very excellent section on what is NOT a sign to start solids:

·        Growth Spurts - baby wants to eat more often

·        Efficient Nurses - feedings are taking less time so mother interprets that as she has no more milk

·        Distractibility - babies look all over the place during the feeding, again mother assumes she doesn’t have enough milk

 

As well as the section on “Starting solids the easy way”…with clear cue-based recommendations to respond to babies’ skills, behaviors and needs.

 

...just some history for the Breastfeeding History buffs in our group!

 

Jeanette Panchula, BSW, RN, PHN, IBCLC

La Leche League Leader – and no, I do not benefit from sales of the books mentioned!

Vacaville, CA

 

 


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