Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
  • COVID-19
    • Articles & podcasts
    • Blog posts
    • Collection
    • News
  • Content
    • Current issue
    • Past issues
    • Early releases
    • Collections
    • Sections
    • Blog
    • Infographics & illustrations
    • Podcasts
  • Authors
    • Overview for authors
    • Submission guidelines
    • Submit a manuscript
    • Forms
    • Editorial process
    • Editorial policies
    • Peer review process
    • Publication fees
    • Reprint requests
  • CMA Members
    • Overview for members
    • Earn CPD Credits
    • Print copies of CMAJ
    • Career Ad Discount
  • Subscribers
    • General information
    • View prices
  • Alerts
    • Email alerts
    • RSS
  • JAMC
    • À propos
    • Numéro en cours
    • Archives
    • Sections
    • Abonnement
    • Alertes
    • Trousse média 2021
  • CMAJ JOURNALS
    • CMAJ Open
    • CJS
    • JAMC
    • JPN

User menu

Search

  • Advanced search
CMAJ
  • CMAJ JOURNALS
    • CMAJ Open
    • CJS
    • JAMC
    • JPN
CMAJ

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • COVID-19
    • Articles & podcasts
    • Blog posts
    • Collection
    • News
  • Content
    • Current issue
    • Past issues
    • Early releases
    • Collections
    • Sections
    • Blog
    • Infographics & illustrations
    • Podcasts
  • Authors
    • Overview for authors
    • Submission guidelines
    • Submit a manuscript
    • Forms
    • Editorial process
    • Editorial policies
    • Peer review process
    • Publication fees
    • Reprint requests
  • CMA Members
    • Overview for members
    • Earn CPD Credits
    • Print copies of CMAJ
    • Career Ad Discount
  • Subscribers
    • General information
    • View prices
  • Alerts
    • Email alerts
    • RSS
  • JAMC
    • À propos
    • Numéro en cours
    • Archives
    • Sections
    • Abonnement
    • Alertes
    • Trousse média 2021
  • Visit CMAJ on Facebook
  • Follow CMAJ on Twitter
  • Follow CMAJ on Pinterest
  • Follow CMAJ on Youtube
  • Follow CMAJ on Instagram
Letters

Breast is best for more than 6 months

Laura N. Haiek and Suzanne Dionne
CMAJ September 17, 2002 167 (6) 631-632;
Laura N. Haiek
*Physician, Montérégie Department of Public Health, Longueuil, Que.; †Physician, CLSC de la Haute-Yamaska, Granby, Que.
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Suzanne Dionne
*Physician, Montérégie Department of Public Health, Longueuil, Que.; †Physician, CLSC de la Haute-Yamaska, Granby, Que.
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Metrics
  • Responses
  • PDF
Loading

The trial reported by Cindy-Lee Dennis and coauthors1 will undoubtedly help clinicians and public health professionals to choose effective interventions to prolong the duration of breast-feeding. Nevertheless, we would like to provide a clarification regarding the authors' advice, which is based on recommendations of the Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS)2 and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)3

In 1998, the CPS, Dietitians of Canada and Health Canada recommended that “breastfeeding may continue for up to 2 years of age and beyond.”4 The AAP3 recommends that breast-feeding “continue for at least 12 months, and thereafter for as long as mutually desired.” Nowhere in these recommendations is there a suggestion that breast-feeding should last only 6 months. Exclusive breast-feeding is recommended by most experts3,5,6,7 for the first 6 months of life.

If we want families to make informed decisions about their infant feeding methods, it is important that physicians understand (and communicate) that breast-feeding for only 6 months is not recommended.

Laura N. Haiek Physician Montérégie Department of Public Health Longueuil, Que. Suzanne Dionne Physician CLSC de la Haute-Yamaska Granby, Que.

References

  1. 1.↵
    Dennis CL, Hodnett E, Gallop R, Chalmers B. The effect of peer support on breast-feeding duration among primiparous women: a randomized controlled trial. CMAJ 2002;166(1):21-8.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  2. 2.↵
    Canadian Paediatric Society, Nutrition Committee. Meeting iron needs of infants and young children: an update. CMAJ 1991;144:1451-3.
    OpenUrlPubMed
  3. 3.↵
    American Academy of Pediatrics, Work Group in Breastfeeding. Breastfeeding and the use of human milk. Pediatrics 1997;100:1035-9.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  4. 4.↵
    Canadian Paediatric Society, Dietitians of Canada and Health Canada. Nutrition for healthy term infants. Ottawa: Health Canada; 1998.
  5. 5.↵
    Kramer MS, Kakuma R. Optimal duration of exclusive breastfeeding [Cochrane review]. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2002;(1):CD003517.
  6. 6.↵
    The optimal duration of exclusive breastfeeding: results of a WHO systematic review. Indian Pediatr 2001;38(5):565-7. Available: www.who.int/inf-pr-2001/en/note2001-07.html (accessed 2002 Aug 8).
    OpenUrlPubMed
  7. 7.↵
    L'allaitement maternel au Québec: Lignes directrices. Québec. Québec: Santé et des Services sociaux du Québec, Sept. 2001. p. 75. Version életronique : http://206.167.52.1/fr/document/publication.nsf/4b1768b3f849519c852568fd0061480d/134a35e195595a8485256acb0053a12f?OpenDocument (date de la dernière consultation par l'auteur : 2002 août 8).
PreviousNext
Back to top

In this issue

CMAJ
Vol. 167, Issue 6
17 Sep 2002
  • Table of Contents
  • Index by author

Article tools

Respond to this article
Print
Download PDF
Article Alerts
To sign up for email alerts or to access your current email alerts, enter your email address below:
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on CMAJ.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Breast is best for more than 6 months
(Your Name) has sent you a message from CMAJ
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the CMAJ web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Citation Tools
Breast is best for more than 6 months
Laura N. Haiek, Suzanne Dionne
CMAJ Sep 2002, 167 (6) 631-632;

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
‍ Request Permissions
Share
Breast is best for more than 6 months
Laura N. Haiek, Suzanne Dionne
CMAJ Sep 2002, 167 (6) 631-632;
Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Jump to section

  • Article
    • References
  • Responses
  • Metrics
  • PDF

Related Articles

  • No related articles found.
  • PubMed
  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • No citing articles found.
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • Respiratory syncytial virus and palivizumab prophylaxis in the COVID-19 era
  • Eliminating racism in research
  • Transitioning to outpatient arthroplasty during COVID-19: time to pivot
Show more Letters

Similar Articles

Content

  • Current issue
  • Past issues
  • Collections
  • Sections
  • Blog
  • Podcasts
  • Alerts
  • RSS
  • Early releases

Information for

  • Advertisers
  • Authors
  • Reviewers
  • CMA Members
  • Media
  • Reprint requests
  • Subscribers

About

  • General Information
  • Journal staff
  • Editorial Board
  • Governance Council
  • Journal Oversight
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Copyright and Permissions

Copyright 2021, CMA Joule Inc. or its licensors. All rights reserved. ISSN 1488-2329 (e) 0820-3946 (p)

All editorial matter in CMAJ represents the opinions of the authors and not necessarily those of the Canadian Medical Association or its subsidiaries.

To receive any of the resources on this site in an accessible format, please contact us at cmajgroup@cmaj.ca.

Powered by HighWire