Mothers Weaning Babies Too Early
June 12, 1997
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The majority of
American infants are being
weaned and introduced to solid foods
too early, experts say.
"How infants are fed seems to have little
relevance to how we, as
nutritionists, think infants should be
fed," says pediatrician Dr. William
Klish, of Texas Children's Hospital in
Houston.
Klish's comments are published in the
June issue of the Journal of the
American College of Nutrition, which
also includes a study of the feeding
of American infants in their first year of
life.
University of Tennessee nutritionists
conducted in-home interviews with
98 mothers during their newborn's first
year. Feeding patterns were
tracked as the infants grew. All of the
mothers were from white, middle-
and upper-class homes - the population
segment thought to 'lead' the
nation in adopting recommended
childrearing techniques.
However, even these mothers seemed
to fall short of the American
Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) guidelines
for infant feeding. These
guidelines stipulate that breastfeeding
should be the only source of food
for most infants during the first four
months (at least) of life, that
breastfeeding continue as part of an
infant's diet through to (at least) his
or her first birthday, and that solid foods
be introduced at between 4 to 6
months of age.
Registered dietitian Sheah Rarback, a
spokesperson for the American
Dietetic Association, and assistant
professor at the Department of
Pediatrics at the University of Miami
School of Medicine, believes these
recommendations have a solid basis in
science. She says, "Breastfeeding
is the perfect food for an infant, and all
the formulas are just trying to
catch up to breast milk." She says that
while formula can supply some of
the nutrients of breast milk, it lacks the
immunological properties which
breast milk contains. Studies have
shown that babies suckling formula
alone may face increased risks for ear
and other infections, Rarback
said.
Solid foods need to be introduced when
babies are ready. Rarback
explains that babies younger than 4 to 6
months of age may be
ill-equipped to ingest solid foods. "The
way the baby's tongue moves
across the nipple is done to extract
breast milk," she explains. When
infants are spoon-fed foods, this
instinctual motion often pushes the food
out of the mouth. Rarback says, "Many
parents say, 'Oh, the baby didn't
like it, she pushed it out.' That's not the
case."
But the Tennessee researchers
discovered that while experts recommend
breastfeeding or formula only during the
first year of infancy, "half of the
(study) infants were receiving cow's milk
by 12 months of age."
Exclusive breastfeeding may have
ended for many babies long before
that time - while 83% of new moms
breastfed initially, this percentage
"decreased significantly by about 6
months; 33% at 4 months, and 12%
at 6 months," researchers say.
Solid foods (like cereals) were
introduced earlier than recommended as
well. In the study, the first cereals were
fed to the babies at an average of
just under 4 months - below the
minimum set by the AAP. Juice, fruit,
and vegetables were added to infant
diets about a month later, the
researchers say.
Rarback says the early introduction of
cereal is problematic. "(Babies)
need what's in the breast milk, so by
introducing a cereal, you might
decrease the intake of breast milk." And
she disagrees with the common
practice of putting baby to bed with a
bottle full of cereal. Many mothers
believe this can soothe hunger and put
the babies to sleep, although both
the Tennessee researchers and
Rarback say studies show it simply
doesn't work this way. However, "it's a
very strongly ingrained belief in
this society," she said. She says
constant access to cereals can help
develop patterns of overeating in infants
who otherwise would cease
eating upon satiation.
Rarback isn't exactly sure why moms
are speeding up infant food
transitions. She speculates that "a lot of
the problems with breastfeeding
(cessation) arise from the mom not
getting enough education, enough
support." Past generations relied on the
'been there, done that'
over-the-clothesline network of
experienced moms to help guide new
mothers through the process. Rarback
believes that with more and more
women at work, those networks have
weakened.
And she believes early weaning may
also be a matter of expense and
convenience. "Most moms are working,
and maybe they go to the store
and (pick) up milk for the rest of the
family," she says. "They're seeing a
toddler... and thinking, 'what's the
difference? he's 10... months old, why
not give him (cow's) milk?"'
However, Rarback says it's important
that mothers not get overly
alarmed. "Babies are very resilient," she
says, and infant reactions to
dietary changes vary from infant to
infant. "Maybe the baby who's getting
constant ear infections would've
benefited from a longer term of
breastfeeding. And maybe another baby
wouldn't." She says it's
impossible to know which babies will be
more or less sensitive to early
weaning. "Since we don't know which
baby will get the most benefits
from following these practices, we feel
it's a good idea for everyone to
follow (them)," she says.
Rarback believes more - and earlier -
parental education is key. "Maybe
we have to move our emphasis to a
pre-conception nutrition for mom
and baby," Rarback said. "Not only just
doing the counseling just once
the baby's born."
SOURCE: Journal of the American
College of Nutrition
(1997;16(3):189, 209-213)
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