Four in 10 Babies Given Solid Foods Too Early, Study Finds
Hunger, inability to sleep through the night often cited as reasons
MONDAY, March 25 (HealthDay News) -- Child development experts advise parents not to introduce solid foods, such as baby cereal, into an infant's diet until the infant is at least 4 to 6 months old. However, new research suggests that about 40 percent of parents aren't heeding this advice and are giving their babies solid food much sooner.
The researchers also found that formula-fed infants were much more likely to be given solid foods too early than were breast-fed infants.
"Health authorities do advise parents to wait until after 4 months because infants aren't developmentally ready to eat solid foods before then," explained the study's senior author, Kelley Scanlon, an epidemiologist at the division of nutrition, physical activity and obesity at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta.
Scanlon said there are a number of other reasons why experts don't recommend early feeding. One is that the early introduction of solid foods has been linked to a shorter duration of breast-feeding. Early solid food consumption has also been linked to the development of chronic conditions, such as childhood obesity, celiac disease, diabetes and eczema, according to background information in the study.
To see how often the expert recommendations on solid foods are followed, Scanlon and her colleagues reviewed data provided by more than 1,300 mothers with infants.
The investigators found that 40 percent of mothers introduced solid foods before their infants were 4 months old. About 24 percent of exclusively breast-feeding moms introduced early solid food, while close to 53 percent of formula-fed babies were given solid foods early on. Slightly more than 50 percent of babies that were fed both breast milk and formula were introduced to solid foods before 4 months.
Reasons cited by the moms included, "My baby was old enough," "My baby seemed hungry," "I wanted to feed my baby something in addition to breast milk or formula," "My baby wanted the food I ate," "A doctor or other health care professional said my baby should begin eating solid food," or "It would help my baby sleep longer at night," according to the study.
4 in 10 Babies Given Solid Foods Too Early: Study
Hunger, inability to sleep through the night often cited as reasons
MONDAY, March 25 (HealthDay News) -- Child development experts advise parents not to introduce solid foods, such as baby cereal, into an infant's diet until the infant is at least 4 to 6 months old. However, new research suggests that about 40 percent of parents aren't heeding this advice and are giving their babies solid food much sooner.
The researchers also found that formula-fed infants were much more likely to be given solid foods too early than were breast-fed infants.
"Health authorities do advise parents to wait until after 4 months because infants aren't developmentally ready to eat solid foods before then," explained the study's senior author, Kelley Scanlon, an epidemiologist at the division of nutrition, physical activity and obesity at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta.
Scanlon said there are a number of other reasons why experts don't recommend early feeding. One is that the early introduction of solid foods has been linked to a shorter duration of breast-feeding. Early solid food consumption has also been linked to the development of chronic conditions, such as childhood obesity, celiac disease, diabetes and eczema, according to background information in the study.
To see how often the expert recommendations on solid foods are followed, Scanlon and her colleagues reviewed data provided by more than 1,300 mothers with infants.
The investigators found that 40 percent of mothers introduced solid foods before their infants were 4 months old. About 24 percent of exclusively breast-feeding moms introduced early solid food, while close to 53 percent of formula-fed babies were given solid foods early on. Slightly more than 50 percent of babies that were fed both breast milk and formula were introduced to solid foods before 4 months.
Reasons cited by the moms included, "My baby was old enough," "My baby seemed hungry," "I wanted to feed my baby something in addition to breast milk or formula," "My baby wanted the food I ate," "A doctor or other health care professional said my baby should begin eating solid food," or "It would help my baby sleep longer at night," according to the study.