>
>Frankly, there is zero evidence to support the idea that we should 
>be drumming it into all mothers' heads to let absolutely nothing 
>else apart from breastmilk cross their babies' lips before the age 
>of six months, and in developed countries we could be a lot more 
>relaxed about the whole thing. But that's just one of my 
>hobbyhorses. Anyway, that's where the 'six months' policy came from, 
>so hope that's of some help.


No drumming....never has any effect, either :)

The WHO policy is guidance to governments to enable exclusive 
breastfeeding, not instructions to individual mothers.  The six 
month 'red letter day' is an artefact of research that has to draw 
lines and be consistent about it (and allow comparisons with other 
drawn lines).

I think it is a reasonable and evidence-based public health statement 
of nutritional adequacy, that means employment laws, and other 
insititutional barriers including commercial interests, should be 
ones that enable babies to feed exclusively on breastmilk if their 
mothers wish it.

For all other individual purposes,'round about the middle of the 
first year' is fine.

I certainly don't think mothers in resource-rich settings with clean 
water need be too worried about the actual day on the calendar, and 
nor should their HCPs.

Heather Welford Neil
NCT bfc, tutor, UK
-- 

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