AdventureDad

A very interesting article today on the first page of the well respected newspaper Svenska Dagbladet talks about the misleading breastfeeding advice the World Health Organization has been giving to (hundreds of ?) millions of women during the past 40 years. The article is unfortunately in Swedish and I have been unable to find the original. I'm not bringing this to your attention to debate breastfeeding.  It's to give breastfeeding mothers some additional guidance and hopefully avoid the obsession with growth charts that many doctors seem to have. The growth charts for babies that many depend on have apparently been based on bottle-fed babies and not breast-fed.  Bottle-fed babies gain weight more quickly in the beginning and mothers who breastfeed could therefore have been given the incorrect advice to add more food to their child's diet when it was completely unnecessary.  New growth charts have  been published which are now based on a large sample of breastfed babies from many different countries.  According to their new study, the growth rate of breast-fed babies is now considered optimal.

The WHO is admitting that millions of breastfeeding women have been given advice during the last 40 years that could be harmful.   According to the article, the new charts could have a large impact on the psychological wellbeing for women who breastfeed. The growth charts have as you know been used to measure if your precious child is growing "normally".  During all those visits to the pediatrician/doctor weight is checked  and you have a chat about how your child is doing.  The new growth charts could make lots of women feel better about themselves and their child.  It's common  that the doctors are very focused on the numbers of the growth charts instead of looking more at how the child is doing.  This intense focus on numbers can have a very negative effect on many mothers who breastfeed.  The constant nagging about a baby being "below the curve" can be overwhelming. Mothers are told their child is not getting enough food and that an addition of formula is  needed.  I can't tell you how many articles and blogs I've read, or been told first hand or through emails,  about mothers who have experienced problems with the growth charts and their pediatricians.  The psychological effects of this can be serious, it's not fun to constantly hear that your baby is a bit low on the chart and that something needs to be done. Especially when the meaning of the charts are often overstated and your child is doing just fine.  I'm well aware of the need to look at the growth charts as a guide over how your child is doing but I've always believed it should be part of the overall picture, not the main focus.  The main focus should be on the mother and the baby, and how they  are looking and feeling.

In Great Britain some health experts say that the WHO's earlier breastfeeding advice could have led to fatter or obese children.  A Swedish expert on child obesity, Claude Martin, is quoted saying that he finds the British claims "far-fetched" and far from proven.  Personally I don't believe it will/has led to more obesity around the world but it's a possibility.  I'm definitely more concerned about all the unnecessary psychological issues mothers constantly have to deal with concerning growth charts.  Sweden is world leading in many child related areas, like safety and health care. We are very focused on family and children but it's done in a  relaxed way.  After birth we do visit the pediatrician every week and they do check the weight and compare it to a chart.  But the chart is not from WHO, it's especially adapted to Swedish kids.  More importantly, we never discuss any percentages on the growth charts.  I don't know one single person who has been told a percentage and it's simply not the way things are done here.  Mothers can look a the chart and they see the "normal" curve but are always told that all children are different and that the chart should be used as a guide.  If the chart is totally off, action will be taken but in these cases there are usually many other indications showing that something is wrong.  If your child is a little low on the chart but doing just fine that's exactly what the pediatrician will tell you.  She will tell you not to worry and that the chart is just a part of the bigger picture.  Sorry to nag about the Swedish system.  It's

Our son was high on the chart in the beginning but then below the chart but everything was always explained to us in a very relaxed and calm way.  My metabolism has always been very fast and it seems like our son has inherited that from me.  The pediatricians here put a lot more emphasis on how the mother is feeling and what her gut feeling is.  There are more talks and less tests, unless of course something is seriously wrong.  The same approach is applied before you give birth and visit your pediatrician regularly.  Very few tests and instead more talking about how the mother is feeling.  Often done in a cozy room with some candles lit.  It may seem like the doctors don't care enough but the fact is that there is no need for complicated tests each week during a normal pregnancy.  We have been doing things this way for many years and the results speak for themselves.

I really hope this new chart from WHO will ease the pressure on many mothers.  And hopefully some doctors will also start looking at the charts as a helpful tool and realize that all children are different.

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