New study finds mothers introduce solid foods too early

Many moms appear to introduce solid foods before their babies’ bodies can handle it, despite warnings from pediatricians about feeding newborns anything besides breastmilk or formula, according to a study published in Pediatrics says.

In a national survey of 1,334 moms conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), four in 10 new parents start feeding their babies solid foods before their four-month birthday, and nine percent started as early as four weeks.

Moms who gave babies formula were twice as likely as those who exclusively breastfed to start solids too early (53 percent to 24 percent), says the study. Some other interesting findings in the study included: The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) advises babies are breast fed exclusively for six months, and they currently recommend against parents introducing solid foods for at least that long.

There are a few reasons for this: Signs your child is ready for solid food include sitting up, being able to take food off of a fork, and not closing his or her mouth when food is offered. If you offer your child a spoon of rice cereal and they push it out of their mouth or it dribbles on to their chin, they may not be ready. The sooner moms switch baby to solid food, the sooner they stop breastfeeding and lose out on the important health benefits human milk provides.

• Mothers who introduced solid food before four months were more likely to be younger, unmarried, have less education, or be participating in the federal Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) nutrition program.
• Eight percent said they introduced solid food as early as one month or younger, including 11 percent who formula fed only and five percent who exclusively breastfed.
• Eighty-nine percent of moms who introduced solid food early said they did so because their baby was old enough.
• Seventy-one percent said the baby seemed hungry a lot.
• Sixty-seven percent said the baby wanted the food they ate or showed interest in solid food.
• Eight percent said the baby had a medical condition that might be helped by eating solid food.
• The head and neck control and overall coordination infants need to safely eat solids does not develop until around four months.
• Early introduction to solid foods may increase risk of some diseases including diabetes, obesity, eczema, and celiac disease, the study notes.