Do I Breastfeed My Baby Exclusively for 6 months?

The article ‘Six months of Exclusive Breastfeeding: how good is the evidence?’ in the  British Medical Journal has created an opportunity to  clear up this confusing issue.

In 2003 the health minister announced that the UK was to comply with the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendation that all infants should be exclusively breastfed for six months; yet the evidence for supporting this major change in public health policy underwent little scrutiny. In fact there was little evidence to endorse this policy.

There is a substantial amount of researched evidence to support the importance of infant nutrition for long term health, through influences that include cognitive function, obesity and the risk of heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. It’s really important that infants receive the best nutrition possible during this period of rapid growth and development.

The Basis of the WHO Recommendations.

Much of the WHO argument to support exclusive breastfeeding was based on a number of studies that had been carried out in the developing world; where nutritional and environmental conditions vary considerably from those in the UK.

The primary benefit that has been cited to support exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months was to reduce the risk of infection in infants. However, whilst in a developing country, infant infection can have significant impact on morbidity and mortality, this is not so for infants in developed countries such as the UK.  Breastfeeding eliminates the need for sterile equipment, clean water sources and fresh hygienic food sources, which is of considerable value in a developing country; however, here in the UK we have the luxury of considering feeding options that offer the greatest health and development benefits to our infants, while clean water sources and rotten foods are not a concern.

In developed countries there was some evidence that exclusive breastfeeding reduced the risk of infection but really only in infants fed solids before 3 months. The normal recommended age for weaning is 4 – 6 months, beyond 3 months, and so delaying the introduction of foods until 6 months would offer little or no additional protection from infection to babies in developed countries.

The most important concern regarding extended exclusive breastfeeding in the UK is whether breastmilk will provide the nutrition required by the rapidly developing and growing infant, and in the majority of cases I believe it would not. A breastfed infant’s nutrition would depend greatly on their mother’s nutrition, and in the UK (a typical developed country) there are a number of nutritional inadequacies that will be reflected in the mother’s breastmilk. For example, of major concern is iron deficiency, which is common in UK, a deficiency in this critical nutrient in early life will irreversibly impact the infants motor, mental and social development. Other nutrient deficiencies are highly likely, the effect of which could be considerable.

How long should I exclusively breastfeed my Baby?

There is no doubt that breastfeeding your baby will have many positive effects for both you and your baby and whenever possible I absolutely recommend that you try to breastfeed exclusively for the first 4 months. Breastfeeding helps create a powerful bond between mother and baby, but many other benefits are known both the mother and child; breastmilk contains maternal immune factors that protect the baby from illness until their own immune systems are more developed. Studies also support reduced risk of maternal breast cancer, and reduce obesity, heart disease and diabetes in infants.

At some point, beyond 4 months, you will feel that your baby has ‘outgrown’ exclusive breastfeeding. It could be that their energy requirements are simply beyond what you are able to provide in breastmilk, or that your infant’s stomach is not large enough to take the necessary volumes in. At some point they will probably seem unsatisfied and permanently hungry – that’s the cue for food!

So When Do I wean my Baby?

There are some really good and clear guidelines to consider here to help you decide when to wean your baby. If there was one bit of advice I could give, it would be not to become anxious about it. Having taken a few things into account, it’s basically up to you when you start to introduce foods; mostly it’s when it feels right.

The important thing to remember is that nothing is critical or defined – if you try to wean your baby but they don’t seem interested then leave it a week or two and try again.  Don’t be concerned if your baby’s timing isn’t exactly in sync with yours. You will grow to understand each other.

The following recommendations should help you decide when it the right time to introduce solid foods.

Important Weaning Considerations:

1. Your infant is over 4 months old. `
2. The intervals between feeding are closing and your baby seems hungry ‘all the time’
3. You are tired and finding it hard to keep up with your baby’s demands.
4. After 4 months your baby will have grown considerably, instinct may tell you that the baby nutritional needs  are too big now for you to solely provide through milk alone.

Stay healthy while you breastfeed.

Your health is paramount while you breastfeed. Your nutritional status will reflect upon your baby’s nutritional status, but also just being run down, tired and poorly will be no fun for either of you. Try to eat a diet rich in fruits, vegetables and high quality meats with some fish . Oily fish, such as salmon, trout, sword fish, shark, tuna and mackerel, can be high in toxic chemicals and contaminants, the government guidelines suggest eating a maximum of 2 portions a week – I would recommend a supplement rather than eating any oily fish at all because I feel we absorb a lot of chemicals daily as it is, I wouldn’t recommend adding to that burden knowingly, particularly whilst breastfeeding. It is best to supplement with omega-3 fish oils whilst breastfeeding. Omega- 3 fish oils are key nutrients during this period as they are critical for the development of your baby’s rapidly growing brain and eyes, amongst other things.

Juliet Wilson DHAPURE offers one of  the best value pharmaceutically graded, highly purified, concentrated source of omega- 3  fatty acids available.

It is also important that you continue with your ante-natal supplements, Juliet Wilson Advanced Ante-natal Formula will support you nutritionally whilst breastfeeding, it will ensure that you have the vitamins and minerals you need to pass on adequate levels of these nutrients to your baby as well as supporting your own health.

Reference:

Fewtrell et al (2011) Six months of exclusive breast feeding: how good is the evidence? British Medical Journal 342:c5955