Is baby-led weaning feasible? When do babies first reach out for and eat finger foods?

Abstract

The baby-led weaning philosophy proposes that when solids are introduced, infants should be encouraged to self-feed with solid food, as opposed to spoon-feeding purees. We used data from the Gateshead Millennium Study (GMS) to define the range of ages at which infants reach out for and eat finger foods and related this to developmental status. GMS recruited infants shortly after birth and followed them prospectively using postal questionnaires. Of the 923 eligible children, 602 had data on when they first reached out for food, and 340 (56%) had done so before age 6 months, but 36 (6%) were still not reaching for food at age 8 months. Infants who had not reached out for food by 6 months were less likely to be walking unaided at age 1 year (85 out of 224, 38%) compared with those who did (155 out of 286, 54%; P < 0.001). For the 447 parents who completed a diary of the first five occasions when their child ate finger foods, the first finger food eaten was before age 6 months for 170 (40%) and before age 8 months for 383 (90%); foods offered were mainly bread, rusks or biscuits. Of the 604 with information at age 8 months about current intake, all but 58 (9.6%) were having some finger foods at least daily, but only 309 (51%) were having them more than once per day. Baby-led weaning is probably feasible for a majority of infants, but could lead to nutritional problems for infants who are relatively developmentally delayed.

Healthcare professionals’ and mothers’ knowledge of, attitudes to and experiences with, Baby-Led Weaning: a content analysis study

“…It has been suggested that purées (which are frequently made of fruit or vegetables and thinned down with water or milk) are often very low in energy, meaning that the small volume of purées typically consumed in the early weeks would contribute relatively little to meeting a conventionally fed infant's nutrient requirements. 7 In contrast, finger foods, if carefully chosen, can be very nutrient dense, so an infant who appears to be eating little when self-feeding may potentially be closer to meeting their nutrient requirements. 7 Only one parent in the current study reported being concerned about her child being able to eat enough, although many mothers reported spoon-feeding their infant at times when they were potentially at greater risk of under eating, that is, when they were unwell or very tired.…”

“…7 In contrast, finger foods, if carefully chosen, can be very nutrient dense, so an infant who appears to be eating little when self-feeding may potentially be closer to meeting their nutrient requirements. 7 Only one parent in the current study reported being concerned about her child being able to eat enough, although many mothers reported spoon-feeding their infant at times when they were potentially at greater risk of under eating, that is, when they were unwell or very tired. Because of the nature of this self-selected sample it is possible that mothers with concerns about this issue may have discontinued or chosen not to follow BLW.…”

“…7 It also suggests that BLW is associated with lower levels of maternal anxiety, restriction, pressure to eat and monitoring during the complementary feeding period; 8 and perhaps healthier eating patterns and body mass index. 9 However, in the absence of any longitudinal or randomised controlled trial data, it is not possible to determine whether these associations are causal.…”

Nutritional content of infant commercial weaning foods in the UK

“…In one UK survey, 40% of babies were reaching out for foods by the age of 6 months,25 suggesting that infants should soon be able to progress to foods prepared for the whole family, with minor adaptations such as mashing or cutting into small bite-size portions 26. This may be important, as delaying the introduction of lumpy foods beyond 10 months has been associated with feeding difficulties27 and refusal to accept foods later in childhood 28.…”

Cross‐species comparison of behavioral neurodevelopmental milestones in the common marmoset monkey and human child

“… KEY: wks.=weeks; mos.=months; mo.=month; NR = not reported; NP= not present; * indicates skill present in multiple tables REFERENCES: 1 de Castro Leão, Duarte Doria Neto, & de Sousa, 2009; 2 Yamamoto, 1993; 3 Case-Smith, 2015; 4 Wang, Fang, & Gong, 2014; 5 Gerber, Wilks, & Erdie-Lalena, 2010; 6 Braun, Schultz-Darken, Schneider, Moore, & Emborg, 2015; 7 Bayley, 2006 8 Folio & Fewell, 2000; 9 Child development tracker, n.d.; 10 American Academy of Pediatrics, 2009; 11 Wright, Cameron, Tsiaka, & Parkinson, 2011; 12 Korth & Rendell, 2015; 13 Missler et al, 1992; 14 Edwards, Buckland, & McCoy-Powlen, 2002 …”