Hello Mr. Jelínek,

I have a question regarding the nutrition of a 12-month-old girl who is not gaining much weight. According to growth charts for breastfed children, she is between the 6th and 10th percentiles (weight to height). Otherwise, she is a completely healthy, lively, and happy girl (her parents are "spaghetti-like" :-).. The pediatrician advises the mother to stop breastfeeding and switch to formula and high-calorie drinks.

The girl is partially breastfed and eats about 3 times a day, sometimes more and sometimes less. After consulting with the mother, it seems to me that the mother wants to fully apply the BLW method and doesn't want to motivate the child in other ways (trying different food textures, new foods, helping with a spoon, or motivating through play..) and leaves the eating entirely up to the girl.

What approach would you recommend? And I am also interested in whether it is right for the mother to stop breastfeeding and switch to formula as the doctor recommended :-(. Thank you very much for your perspective on the matter.

Have a nice day.

These situations are somewhat unfortunate because pediatricians have a duty not to neglect child care, so they are compelled to follow the rules dictated by their profession, which we cannot blame them for in any way. On the other hand, if the parents are typical ectomorphs and the child has inherited this somatotype, it is logical that the problem of "fitting" into population charts arises. I believe that if the child's energy and nutritional intake is adequate and nothing important is missing from the diet, there is no reason to overfeed them. The BLW method is fine, but here too, the principle that a parent responsible for their child should monitor the nutritional profile of their diet (with the help of nutritional apps) should apply - essentially, it is only in this way that you can confidently state that the diet is headed in the right direction. However, there should be some motivation for eating, because through this, the child develops and forms emotional patterns that will influence their relationship with food in the future.

Themes:  Weight loss   Breastfeeding