Adherence to different methods for introducing complementary food to 7-month-old babies: a randomized clinical trial

Abstract

Objective: To assess the adherence to three methods of food introduction for 7-month-old babies. Methods: This is a randomized clinical trial conducted with mother-infant pairs, submitted to the intervention with five and a half months of age and three different methods for food introduction according to randomization: Parent-Led Weaning (PLW), Baby-Led Introduction to SolidS (BLISS), or mixed (specially developed for this study). Adherence to the method was assessed at the seventh month of age, via telephone call to the caregiver by a researcher blinded to the method. The analyses were performed using the Chi-Square test and data are presented in absolute numbers and percentages. Results: A total of 139 mother-infant pairs were evaluated; 46 of them were allocated to the PLW method; 47, to the BLISS; and 46, to the mixed. At seven months of age, 60 (43.2%) mothers reported that the infants were following the proposed feeding method. When analyzing each approach, the mixed method showed a higher likelihood of adherence (71.7%, n=33), followed by the PLW method (39.1%, n=18) and by the BLISS (19.2%, n=9) (p<0.001). Among the sample that did not follow the proposed method, those that had been randomized to the PLW and BLISS methods mostly migrated to the mixed method (92.9%; n=26 and 92.1%; n=35, respectively) (p<0.001). Conclusions: Complementary feeding in a mixed approach obtained greater adherence in 7-month-old babies.

Choking, gagging and complementary feeding methods in the first year of life: a randomized clinical trial

“…Preliminary data demonstrate that this approach has greater adherence compared to PLW and BLISS. 26 Therefore, this can be a safe approach to be guided, especially regarding the risk of suffocation.…”

Estimated energy and nutrient intake in complementary feeding methods in Brazilian infants: randomized clinical trial

“…Another study limitation is the limited adherence to the proposed methods in randomization. Our results showed that approximately 30% of the children continued to follow the recommended method 24 , 25 . In general, families showed greater adherence to the mixed method, which combined both techniques (PLW and BLISS).…”

Métodos BLW, BLISS e PLW no contexto da alimentação complementar: revisão integrativa

“…). O ensaio clínico randomizado realizado em 2023, que buscou comparar o adesão aos métodos BLISS, PLW e o misto, concluiu que, na visão dos pais, a proposta de autonomia do Brazilian Journal of Health Review, Curitiba, v. 6, n. 4, p.18166-18182, jul/aug., 2023 bebê é visto como um ponto negativo dessas abordagens, já que o eles perdem o controle sobre a quantidade de alimento ingerido(MOREIRA, et al, 2023).Ademais, os métodos guiados pelo bebê proporcionam refeições em conjunto com a família, com maior compatibilidade entre os alimentos ingeridos pelos demais membros quando comparado a abordagem PLW. Com isso, o BLW e BLISS apresentam uma proposta acessível às famílias com estilo de vida acelerado, as quais têm dificuldade no preparo de duas refeições diferentes e, portanto, a adesão a esse método pode ser intensificada(ARANTES, et al, 2018).Em contraste, Vieira et al, a partir de um estudo quantitativo descritivo observou a escolha do método de acordo com as características sociodemográficas de cada família e observou não haver diferença significativa entre as abordagens, exceto pelo fato das mães que adotaram o BLW apresentarem menor proporção de trabalho remunerado e serem mais jovens(VIEIRA, et al, 2020).…”