Hi Karleen
Regarding your question regarding breastmilk being the baby's main source
of food between 6 and 12 months, I remember this too, but also cannot
remember the source. Possibly it is WHO?? The figures I remember are that
breastmilk can provide as much as 75% of the baby's calories from 6 - 12
months, 50% from 12 - 24 months and 10% in the third year of life. I seem
to recall that this finding was perhaps qualified by a discussion of
different alternative food sources in different areas of the world, ie that
breastmilk for a compromised baby in a developing country could provide
more nutrition as a percentage of his diet than breastmilk might to a baby
who had access to a good source of alternative calories/nutrition. When I
find this again I think I'll write the quote and the citation out in big
red letters somewhere and frame it!
In the meantime, here is a little excerpt from the chapter on nursing
beyond 6 months which I wrote for Dia Michels Breastfeeding Annual 2001,
with the refs:
"The practice of breastfeeding beyond 6, 12, 24 months or even longer has
often been neglected in research and nutritional studies, yet breast milk
still provides the most important source of good-quality protein, vitamins
A and C, calcium and the long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, essential
to normal brain development, which are unobtainable from any other source.
(6) One group of researchers found that breastmilk protein and lipid
composition remained constant over 23 months of lactation. (7) Further
research showed that a baby 7-18 months could receive 50% of his calories
from breast milk, and even from 19-36 months could still obtain more than
10%. (8) 500 ml of breast milk per day can provide 50% of the daily
requirement of absorbed iron for children of 1-2 years and 95% of the
Vitamin C. (9) Optimal complementary feeding for children over 6 months of
age involves adding energy and micronutrients while maintaining high energy
intake from breastmilk. (1)"
Refs:
(1) Brown KH Dewey KG, Allen LH. Complementary feeding of young children
in developing countries: a review of current scientific
knowledge, prepared for World Health Organization 1998. WHO/NUT/98.1
(6) Sinclair CM, Fats in Human Milk, Topics in Breastfeeding Set
IV, Lactation Resource Centre, Nursing Mothers Association of Australia, 1992.
(7) Lauber E, Reinhardt M Studies on the quality of breastmilk during
23 months of lactation in a rural community of the Ivory Coast. Am J Clin
Nutr l979, 32: 1159-1173
(8) Van Steenbergen WM Lactation performance of Kamba mothers, Kenya:
Breastfeeding behaviour, breast milk yield and composition. J Trop Ped
l98l: 27 3
(9) Bradley J, Baldwin S and Armstrong H: Breastfeeding: a neglected
household-level weaning-food resource, from D Alnwick, S Moses, OG Schmidt
eds 1988: Improving young child feeding in eastern and southern Africa:
Household-level food technology. Proceedings of a workshop held in Nairobi,
Kenya 12 - 16 Oct 1987.
I don't think this is quite what you were looking for, but hope it helps.
Pamela Morrison IBCLC
England (missing Australia!)
2/04/2005, you wrote:
>Of course I can't remember the source but I know I have heard it stated
>that between 6 and 12 months of age breastmilk should remain a baby's main
>food. Has anyone else heard this? Have a source for it?
>Leads are much appreciated.
>Karleen Gribble
>Australia
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