Nikki said >Chris Mulford has just had a lovely article published in the 
International Breastfeeding Journal; in it, she doubts if the new WHO growth 
charts will
ever be used by US pediatricians. At the  last LLL International Conference  
in Chicago in 2007, the speaker from the WHO said that the new growth 
charts, based on the growth of the exclusively breastfed normal baby, were 
at that time embargoed in the US. < 

Hmm! Interesting! 

Here in the UK there was a meeting and the feeling was positive so the 
Department of Health decided to go ahead and commissioned the Royal College 
of Paediatrics and Child Health to implement the WHO charts for the UK.  
There is now a project team working on this. ( 
http://www.rcpch.ac.uk/Research    see third item down) 

As well as creating a set of physical charts (using WHO data) the team are 
writing the instructions for its use and also the information which goes 
with the chart in the parent held record every mother receives for her baby. 
There will be education materials targeted for different groups of 
professionals. 

Chart designs and instructions are being trialled with focus groups of 
professionals (and what a range of different professions there are to 
consult!) and with parents. 

The project team includes a number of professors of paediatrics of various 
kinds (neonatology, endecrinologists), the chart statistician and health 
visitors.  I am also on the group and have had the great pleasure and 
interest in being involved in most of the focus group work.  I think this is 
the first time parents have ever been consulted about chart design in the 
design stage. 

The issues we are uncovering both from parents and professionals are very 
diverse and interesting.  We didn't ever use the CDC chart and our UK90 
chart isn't as different -- particularly in the early months. 

Anyway, my point on this is that there does not seem to have been any fight 
about this, it just seemed to be the zeitgeist that the WHO chart is A Good 
Thing. 

Although, eerily, Gordon Brown, or his administration, seems to be A Very 
Good Thing for breastfeeding (finally!) -- I asked the woman from the 
Department of Health why and she said 'oh, its about time, isn't it?' but 
who knows how these things happen? 

Since we are the 'pathetic woman of Europe' when it comes to breastfeeding, 
perhaps there is hope for everyone yet! 

Magda Sachs, PhD
Breastfeeding Supporter, The Breastfeeding Network, UK 

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