I have spent the week investigating the new guidelines of the Israel Ministry of Health (see previous postings on this) I was asked to give a comment for the English-language daily so consulted a very supportive paediatrician, Anthony Luder head of pediatrics at Safed hospital and a long-time champion of breastfeeding.  I then downloaded the guidelines, all 32 pages in Hebrew, so it is going to take me a few hours to digest that.
Dr. Luder spoke with his colleagues and said that:
1) the news was leaked to the media before approval by the Ministry and before the new guidelines had been examined by the pediatric community.
2) if one looks carefully, the recommendation to exclusively breastfeed for six months and then with continued breastfeeding give suitable solid foods is unchanged.
3) what is changed is that they recommend that babies be given "tastings" of other foods from 4 months in order to expose infants to allergens on the basis that they can handle them better later on.    They also recommend that breastfeeding mothers not restrict their diets to preclude allergens unless there is severe cows milk intolerance.
The issue is allergy prevention not nutritional supplements.

The guidelines have been revised following changes of protocols in other countries based on the latest research.  References listed are WHO, Cochrane Data Base and many respectable institutions and individuals.

However, if as we hear on Lactnet, the Australian research was sponsored by Nestles, what was the source of funding for all those other studies which have influenced these revised guidelines?
And that is what we have to find out.  If anyone has any other information on this, let`s put it all together.

We as counsellors have always been flexible about the age to start solids.  Some babies are not interested till 8-9 months, others are very attracted by the chips on Daddy`s plate well before 6 months.  Although we believe that babies should say when they want solids and not the Ministry of Health, we know there is a window of opportunity between 5-9 months that is optimal for starting solids, not just for nutritional value but to get the infant used to different tastes and textures and less likely to be faddy and fussy about food as a toddler.

But we normally start with easily digestible foods, vegetables, fruit, techina not eggs and fish as set down in these guidelines.
As Esther says it is hard to imagine a four-month old baby agreeing to eat a hard-boiled egg and any other way of cooking them is a risk for salmonella.  

Have a good weekend
Wendy Blumfield
Israel Childbirth Education Centre
Trained Tutor ANT/BFC NCT UK

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