Erkan Dogan1, Gonca Yilmaz1, Nilgun Caylan2, Mahmut Turgut1, Gulbin Gokcay3, Melahat Melek Oguz4. 1. Pediatrics Department, Karabuk University of Medicine, Karabuk, Turkey. 2. Child and Adolescent Health Department, Public Health Agency of Turkey, Ankara, Turkey. 3. Department of Social Pediatrics, Istanbul University Institute of Child Health, Istanbul, Turkey. 4. Dr Sami Ulus Children Training Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
Abstract
BACKGROUND:Baby-led weaning (BLW) is an approach to introducing solid foods to infants that gives control of the feeding process to the infant. Anecdotal evidence suggests that BLW is becoming popular with parents, but scientific research is limited to a few publications. This study assessed growth, hematological parameters and iron intake in 6-12-month-old infants fed by traditional or baby-led complementary feeding. METHODS: We recruited 280 healthy 5-6-month-old infants allocated to acontrol (traditional spoon feeding; TSF) group or an intervention (BLW) group in a randomized controlled trial. Infant growth, hematologic parameters and iron intake were evaluated at age 12 months. RESULTS: Infants in the TSF were significantly heavier than those in the BLW group. Mean weight in the BLW group was 10.4 ± 0.9 kg compared with 11.1 ± 0.5 kg in the TSF group. There was no statistically significant difference in the iron intake from complementary foods between the BLW (7.97 ± 1.37 mg/day) and TSF (7.90 ± 1.68 mg/day) participants who completed the diet records. Hematologic parameters were similar at 12 months. The incidence of choking reported in the weekly interviews was not different between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first randomized -controlled study to have examined the impact of weaning method on iron intake, hematological parameters and growth in breast-fed infants. BLW can be an alternative complementary feeding type without increasing the risk of iron deficiency, choking or growth impairment.
RCT Entities:
BACKGROUND: Baby-led weaning (BLW) is an approach to introducing solid foods to infants that gives control of the feeding process to the infant. Anecdotal evidence suggests that BLW is becoming popular with parents, but scientific research is limited to a few publications. This study assessed growth, hematological parameters and iron intake in 6-12-month-old infants fed by traditional or baby-led complementary feeding. METHODS: We recruited 280 healthy 5-6-month-old infants allocated to a control (traditional spoon feeding; TSF) group or an intervention (BLW) group in a randomized controlled trial. Infant growth, hematologic parameters and iron intake were evaluated at age 12 months. RESULTS:Infants in the TSF were significantly heavier than those in the BLW group. Mean weight in the BLW group was 10.4 ± 0.9 kg compared with 11.1 ± 0.5 kg in the TSF group. There was no statistically significant difference in the iron intake from complementary foods between the BLW (7.97 ± 1.37 mg/day) and TSF (7.90 ± 1.68 mg/day) participants who completed the diet records. Hematologic parameters were similar at 12 months. The incidence of choking reported in the weekly interviews was not different between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first randomized -controlled study to have examined the impact of weaning method on iron intake, hematological parameters and growth in breast-fed infants. BLW can be an alternative complementary feeding type without increasing the risk of iron deficiency, choking or growth impairment.
Authors: Marcello Bergamini; Giovanni Simeone; Maria Carmen Verga; Mattia Doria; Barbara Cuomo; Giuseppe D'Antonio; Iride Dello Iacono; Giuseppe Di Mauro; Lucia Leonardi; Vito Leonardo Miniello; Filomena Palma; Immacolata Scotese; Giovanna Tezza; Margherita Caroli; Andrea Vania Journal: Nutrients Date: 2022-06-26 Impact factor: 6.706
Authors: Elena Martí-Solsona; Víctor M González-Chordá; Laura Andreu-Pejo; Águeda Cervera-Gasch; Maria Jesús Valero-Chillerón; Desirée Mena-Tudela Journal: Nurs Rep Date: 2020-12-01