Rosemarie Allain talked in her post of 5 Sept about a
          grandmother whose <goal was to breastfeed for a 4 month
          period as recommended by the WHO code at that time>.  For
          information, the International Code of Marketing of
          Breast-milk Substitutes, which was adopted in 1981, does not
          really address the question of breast-feeding duration.
          Rather, it provides a framework for ensuring the appropriate
          marketing and distribution of breast-milk substitutes.  WHO
          recommends that infants should be fed exclusively on breast
          milk from birth to 4 to 6 months of age; that is, they
          should receive no other liquids or solids than breast milk,
          not even water, during this period.  Children should
          continue to be breast-fed for up to 2 years of age or
          beyond, while receiving nutritionally adequate and safe
          complementary foods.  Starting complementary feeding too
          early or too late are *both* undesirable.  Ideally, the
          decision when precisely to begin will be made by a mother,
          in consultation with her health worker, based on her
          infant's specific growth and development needs.

          Jim Akre
          Technical Officer, Nutrition
          World Health Organization
          Geneva, Switzerland
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