Weaning research

[theskiinggardener]

My DS is now 8 weeks old and yesterday started putting his rattle in his mouth for a chew and then started licking it. He is also close to sitting up unaided. This has made me start to look into the whole question of weaning and when to do it.

I've had a look at some of the stuff on kellymom and a few of the other sites recommended in other threads and can see all the research results correlating age of weaning with the various effects such as increased risk of allergies. Has anyone seen research that relates signs of developmental readiness with these factors rather than age?

I want to work out what is best and if he is starting to gnaw at things and lick things already then I'm thinking that in another couple of months he may be ready to play with a bit of fruit or veg. puree. Fundamentally I want to wean when he is ready and at his pace but would like to know if the above research has been done before I decide. I thought that if anyone knew it would most likely be MNers!

No weaning before 17 weeks and no later than 6 months - no medical professional or HV etc will say there are grounds to wean before 17 weeks. They all have different opinions as to when is best thereafter.

Google "ESPHGAN Complimentary weaning". It gives a medical explanation/guidance about weaning.

I weaned 'early' (at 17 weeks) and even I would say at 8 weeks, your son is exploring, not hungry!!! They make sense of the world around them by putting things in their mouths.

I've never heard research that says 'no later than 6 months'. The WHO says nothing but breastmilk until 6 months (which it defines as 180 days) but doesn't say that 6 months is the latest - it says it is the earliest solids can be given.

One baby book I have says it's normal for some babies to refuse all solids until 9 or even 12 months, and that that's not a problem as long as the babies are having vitamin drops.

The BLW book also says that it's only really from 9 / 10 months that many babies really start actually eating properly, so all of those would start 'eating' much later than 6 months.

If you read the link above (it is ESPHGAN complimentary feeding, not weaning - apologies), that is what it says about introducing solid foods by 6 months. Milk is fun until it is one is a catch phrase coined by politicians, not doctors...

introducing solids at 6 months doesn't mean any of it will actually go in though! for most babies milk should be their main form of nutrition until they're 1.

Weaning is something that everyone seems in a rush to do until they start, then they wish they could go back to the ease and simplicity of milk, hold off for as long as possible imo!!!

RobynLou - so true!

OP, back to your original question, the WHO guidelines on infant feeding (which says not to start weaning before 6 months) has a list of the research on which their policy is based. I found this a useful document. It's aimed at health professionals and is a 'model' textbook chapter to teach HCPs what they should be advising. Each section has a research bibliography at the end if you want to look at any of it in more detail. You can find other documents aimed at parents if you google 'WHO infant feeding guidelines'.

The WHO stuff is what the NHS weaning advice is based on.

Thanks AngelDog. That document gives some good links to research which I can have a nose around. There are one or two papers which seem to look at exactly what I was asking.

I hadn't realised about the open gut that seals which is interesting. I suppose the question is is that development correlated to the rest of the physical development, i.e. motor skills. Having read through some of the documents I'm definitely coming round to the fact that there is no rush to begin weaning and certainly no reason to feel pressured into a timetable to get them on 3 square meals a day.

Glad it was useful. I like the WHO as it's fairly easy to pinpoint what research has been used. They have about a million documents online but I found that one fairly readable.

There are more links to 'official' type advice and various bits of research here.

Personally I enjoyed waiting till 6 months to start weaning - it gave me a couple of months' breather after the hideous no-sleeping crying first few months before I had something new to deal with!

theskiinggardener, I spotted some references to the development of motor skills and readiness for solids in the NHS guidelines here when I happened to be looking at it for another thread. It may be a repeat of the WHO stuff, but I thought you might be interested.

Thanks Angeldog. That's useful if the health visitor starts chuntering on. It does seem to contradict itself slightly in that most of the document argues that 6 months should be for all, but there is that one half of a paragraph acknowledging that when they are physically ready, go for it. I think that's going to be my attitude, but in a very laid back way.