In the evolving landscape of infant nutrition, a shift in feeding practices is gaining attention among parents and researchers alike. While spoon-feeding has long been a traditional approach to introducing solid foods to babies, a new study suggests an alternative method that may offer greater benefits for growth and development.
Plato is an AI that resembles a human baby learning the art of intuitive physics. (Photo : Colin Maynard from Unsplash)
Baby-Led Weaning Better Than Spoon-Feeding
The study found that hand-feeding infants could be more beneficial than spoon-feeding as it may support better growth and development. Traditionally, parents spend hours spooning pureed food into their child's mouth.
However, the research indicated that letting infants feed themselves could provide sufficient calories for their growth, highlighting baby-led weaning as a favorable method for introducing solid foods.
This approach promotes infants feeding themselves whole, non-pureed foods when starting solid foods, in contrast to the conventional spoon-feeding pureed solids.
Researchers at the University of Colorado noted that it fosters healthy eating habits by enabling babies to explore various foods in family meals. The researchers examined baby-led weaning in 70 healthy five-month-old infants. Daily Mail reported that caregivers documented the infants' food intake for three days during the study.
Infants who consumed less than 10 percent of their calories from pureed baby foods were categorized as following baby-led weaning. The analysis showed no notable differences in energy intake between the two groups of infants studied.
Baby-led weaning also resulted in higher weight-for-age and weight-for-length scores than infants introduced to solid foods conventionally. That indicates that infants following baby-led weaning had better growth outcomes.
The researchers recommended soft fruits, steamed vegetables, cheese, and small pieces of meat as suitable foods for baby-led weaning due to infants' ease of handling and chewing.
To minimize the risk of choking, they advised cutting foods into stick-like shapes similar in size to the baby's fist. They emphasized the importance of offering a diverse diet when introducing solid foods to infants.
Study author Kinzie Matzeller, a registered dietitian, highlighted a previous concern about whether baby-led weaning provided sufficient nutrients to support infant growth.
She said it "is reassuring to know" that baby-led weaning provides sufficient calories for babies' growth and can be a great way for parents to incorporate more options and different foods the babies may not get otherwise.
She noted that it often takes multiple attempts, up to 15 exposures, for babies to accept new foods, emphasizing the importance of persistence. Researchers also observed that mothers with higher education and income levels tended to opt for baby-led weaning more frequently.
This trend may be linked to the ability of wealthier families to invest time and resources into preparing the diverse foods required for this method. The continued promotion of baby-led weaning underscores its role in shaping positive eating behaviors from the start of a child's solid food journey.
