Whole Milk for Weaned Babies is Out says American Academy of Pediatrics
Tuesday July 15, 2008
For babies who are at risk of being overweight, the American Academy of Pediatrics is recommending 2 percent milk from 12 months to 2 years of age and then a switch to 1 percent milk at 2 years. According to a Finnish study, there were no ill effects in babies given 1 1/2 percent milk and there were even health benefits such as lower cholesterol for boys and less obesity for girls.
Before you make the switch, be sure to talk to your health care provider to see if your child fits the new guidelines. Several things are taken into account including family history, your child's current weight and possible cholesterol screening. Babies still need fat, of course, but the concern is that many babies are getting enough fat from other sources, so the saturated fat from milk moves their consumption past the point that is considered necessary and healthy.
Comments
How about encouraging breastfeeding until the second birthday - as the World Health Organization recomends - instead of encouraging cows milk. The babies would be much healthier and less likely to have obesity problems.
I totally agree It’s not a new idea but it doesnt seem to be an option discussed often. I told my doctor I wanted to breastfeed until my daughter was 2. He said great! I’m condidering based on her needs if I take a parttime job to pump and dad gives her a sippy cup or juice and soymilk in middle of day and nurse before I leave and when I get home.
My daughter is 3 yrs and 5 mths and still nurses in the morning and at bedtime. She is totally potty trained and smart as a whip, talked whole sentences at 1 1/2 and can write some letters. I will continue this nurturing until she outgrows it, it doesnt interfere with anything and we both enjoy the time together.
My son, who is now 2 yrs old, never liked whole milk. He either drinks 1% or 2%. Guess it was just too heavy for him. I know I cannot drink anything over 1% because it upsets my stomach.
It must be nice to be able to stay home or have just a part-time job and breast feed a baby per secula seculorum. That doesn’t happen to most mothers, so we HAVE to wean our babies eventually, and the sooner the better. Whole milk vs. 1% or 2% is a very individual decision that must be discussed with the baby’s pediatrician. My baby was born at 27 weeks and has been a tad underweight, even now at 12 months of age. She will be getting whole milk, no matter what. We shall deal with obesity if she starts to show signs (since it does run in our family).
What about the extra fat needed for brain development. That’s what I was told anyway 6 and 3 years ago. Has that changed?
I agree with pp - why not encourge mom’s to breastfeed and continue to at least 2yrs. My son is 18mo and still BF morning and night. He does get dairy-whole milk yogurt and cheese. Just becasue your baby turns one they do not become a baby cow-let them have what God designed for them.
How about the AAP go back to their old schedule? It used to be that you feed your child (not for people who breastfeed) every 4 hours. If your child was hungry within the 4 hours, you upped the amount of food you gave your child and stayed on the 4 hour schedule. Nowadays? They say you feed on demand. And nowadays you have a lot of overweight babies and overweight babies become overweight children. It’s a pattern.
And Jen, babies do need the fat. The fat is what the brain needs to grow or something like that.
Are you supposed to listen to your child scream because 4 hours hasn’t been reached yet? As an adult, I need to eat every 3 hours, which is not true for everyone. How could every infant have the same schedule?
It almost sounds like babies/toddlers are getting too much fat from other sources which is why they are changing the recommendation on milk. I wonder if the problem is really the other fat sources?
RB… they went away from the 4 hours because it is very unhealthy… Most people, not just babies, should be eating something every 2-3 hours. The problem is that we have lost all sense of proportion. We eat a days worth of calories at every sitting and we expect our babies to eat way more than they need to. If you let a baby eat as much as it actually wants, when it wants, it wont over eat. Unfortunately with bottle feeding, babies end up eating for comfort when all they really wanted was to suck.
I think this is a great thing, but you shouldn’t switch if your kids are on the lower side of the scale. My daughter and son are both skinny and I can’t imagine taking them off of whole milk they’d probably lose weight.
Sharing for some of the breastfeeding moms out there:
At our 12 month appt. a couple of week’s ago, I was encouraged to replace breast milk with whole cow’s milk by a misinformed nurse practitioner. I left the appointment confused because I thought breast milk was supposed to be the best choice. I didn’t understand what happened at 12 months to make the advice change.
Turns out he was dispatching advice my doctor didn’t agree with nor most medical literature. Breast milk has more fat and other nutrients the baby needs than cow’s milk.
I do agree that breastfeeding until two is a luxury today with the schedules many women have in the workforce. However, if you can and want to breastfeed until two, don’t be swayed by an individual or group who hasn’t done the proper research - some facts don’t change every year and this is one of them.
I have a very healthy 15 month old son. He drinks whole milk at breakfast and dinner, one small sippy cup of juice a day and the rest of the day he drinks water. He’s 31.5″ tall and weighs 32.2 lbs. The dr. says he’s perfectly healthy and whatever I’m doing is great and to keep it up. I know a lot of people who say he’s overweight, obese, whatever. If you look at him, he’s not. He’s just solid. My little linebacker! Anyway, every kid is different and we shouldn’t tell one mom she’s doing something wrong, just because it’s not what each one of us would do.
I think it is totally a per child per pediatrician basis. My little man is almost 2&1/2 and at his 2 year appt our pediatrician told us to keep him on whole milk because he is on the thinner side of things- 10%. He said that the good calories in whole milk are from fat and when you switch to 1% or 2% the fat is replaced with sugar calories. He wants my son to get the calories from fat and not sugar. He has gained some weight now that his menu has broadened so we are talking about switching him to 1% which is what we drink. I also try to keep him really active to pave the way for having exercise he part of his daily life as he gets older.
I wonder if they considered the amount of french fries kids today eat when they looked at the obesity rates. Maybe they should put a limit on them, too.
I am disappointed with Ms. Brown’s headline, “Whole Milk for Weaned Babies is Out…”. While those who actually read the article discover that this ONLY applies to babies who are at risk of being overweight and whose pediatricians reccomend a lower fat milk, others who only read headlines may be mislead. It is unfortunate that *the media* feel compelled to sensationalize headlines even when it comes to the health of our children.
I thought that the fat content of the cow’s milk increased the concentration/availability of fat-soluble vitamin D, essential for bone growth in early years, not just a calorific issue. Is this right?
I have addressed some of these comments in a new post. This conversation has gone some places I definitely didn’t expect, which is interesting:
More About that Milk Recommendation from the AAP
Thank you to everyone raising these issues.
To all you breastfeeding moms…
You all talk like if you don’t breastfeed you are a horrible mom and you that can are all high and mighty. Because of health conditions I was never able to breast feed. Teagan is 9 months, 19lbs, super healthy, says da-da, mom, and makes f noises for fluffy the cat. Dr says she’s perfect. Teagan has been organic soy form fed since the day she was born, and in 8 weeks will go to soy milk. There are alternatives for every mom. Please don’t condem what other moms and docs do. (don’t raise know-it-all girls, they follow your examples) Every baby’s needs (and moms) are diffrent. You know whats best for YOUR baby just as much as others know whats best for theirs.
And for the whole obesity thing, it’s so sad that we have to talk caloric intake for babies. What is this country coming to. The only country where children die because they are to fat and have to much food. SAD SAD WORLD
Per NJC’s comment - It amazes me what some doctors do not know - low fat milk is low in fat b/c the fat has been SKIMMED off, not replaced with sugar, it has LESS calories b/c it has LESS fat. Other low fat foods do replace their fat calories w/sugar - like yogurt and cottage cheese.
And Erika - So sorry about your experience with a nurse practitioner. I myself am a PNP (currently a stay at home mom), working on becoming a lactation consulatant. Most of us are big advocates of breastfeeding:)
Our ped recommends 2% milk for babies of age to begin drinking cows milk. He also said it was fine for me to continue on formula (which would also apply to breastfeeding) as long as we want. I can’t imagine my son will go to kindergarten drinking a bottle of formula so I’m fine with whatever makes him happy LOL He also eats three meals with us usually consisting of baby fruits/veggies and some of whatever we have for dinner!
I find that a lot of moms who formula feed are so defensive! I understand that sometimes there are medical conditions that prevent a mom from breastfeeding, and they should not be made to feel guilty about that, but you simply CANNOT refute the evidence that breast is best in 99.9% of cases.
I work full-time and have managed to continue breastfeeding my 11 month old. I pump everyday at work. It has not been easy, but it is 100% doable if you commit to it. There was a military mom once who said that if she could find a way to pump in her line of work, then anyone could do it.
If you cannot breastfeed, it’s not like formula is dangerous or bad for your baby. Your baby will thrive and grow and develop just fine. However, for moms who are capable of breastfeeding, to choose not to do it is selfish, pure and simple. You are putting your needs/desires above your baby’s.