Interesting overview of Norway and solids, Rachel.

In the UK, there was no really official national recommendation for 
the 'right age' until the so-called COMA report as late as 1994 
(Committee for Medical Aspects of Nutrition) when 4-6 mths was stated 
as 'the time',  but that did reflect what had been usual guidance for 
about 15 years (before then, it was three to six months. I have a 
collection of babycare leaflets and books including ones given out to 
mothers by their midwives, dating back many decades)....in practice 
though, by 1994, four months or sometimes 16 weeks was 
well-established as the time some HCPs started to get pressurising if 
a mother had not started her baby on solids .

We've been officially '6 mths' since 2003. While guidance to HCPs 
does not say anything about 'and not a day later' and urges 
individualised care and flexibility, this does seem to be a 'red 
letter day' for many of them, and also to mothers, who may read about 
'six months' and think of it as a date on the calendar as fixed as a 
birthday or Christmas.

If a mother presents at the baby clinic or the doctor's surgery with 
a baby whose behaviour, or weight, or sleeping, or settling, or 
crying jags, are causing his parents concern, and the baby is 
anything over about 3 mnths old,  'start giving solids' is often the 
suggestion, even when the mother is reluctant to do so.

I don't think HCPs are stupid enough to think that 'start giving 
solids' is a magic spell.  But I suspect, in some cases, they feel 
the need to suggest something, anything, so the mother goes away with 
something to try.

However.....this very suggestion can undermine a mother's confidence 
in her HCP, because most mothers know when their babies are deemed by 
official guidance 'too young' for solids. The advice to start solids 
may be confusing and troubling to her, and not helpful.

Heather Welford Neil
NCT bfc, tutor, UK
-- 

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