La Leche League Great Britain welcomes the call by the Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) for a “collective, long-term plan to change the culture of breastfeeding involving educating children at school, families and the wider public.” [1] In the UK many women stop breastfeeding before they intend to. [2] There are varied reasons for this, but in most cases it boils down to one key underlying reason: not getting the support they need when they needed it.
The RCPCH has also published a position statement, including “all infants require solid food from 6 months for adequate nutrition. Solid food should never be introduced before 4 months (17 weeks) as this is associated with increased short-term risk of infection and later risk of obesity, allergy, and coeliac disease”. [3]
LLL believes that for the healthy, full-term baby, breast milk is the only food necessary until the baby shows signs of needing solids, about the middle of the first year after birth. [4] Babies will begin eating solid foods according to their unique timetable, just as they will walk and talk when they are ready. Most babies will show readiness towards the middle of the first year. It isn’t necessary to do anything special: it is more of a question of waiting until they are ready, and then having suitable foods available for them. More information on introducing solids can be found on our webpost https://www.laleche.org.uk/starting-solid-food/
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[1] http://www.rcpch.ac.uk/news/rcpch-publishes-new-guidance-breastfeeding-highlighting-health-benefits-and-importance-tackling
[2] Health and Social Care Information Centre: “Infant Feeding Survey 2010”http://content.digital.nhs.uk/catalogue/PUB08694/Infant-Feeding-Survey-2010-Consolidated-Report.pdf
[3] http://www.rcpch.ac.uk/system/files/protected/news/WEBSITE%20FINAL%20Breastfeeding%20Position%20Statement%20280717_0.pdf
[4] https://www.laleche.org.uk/what-we-do/#LaLecheLeaguesmissionandphilosophy