How to Wean
The World Health Organization recommends that infants be given only breast milk for the first 6 months of life. Infants should receive breast milk as their main food, with a gradual introduction of solid foods between 6 months and 1 year. This gradual introduction of solids is called “weaning”.
Because breast milk is superior in nutrition than solid food, offering solid food too soon (before 6 months of age) or too frequently will reduce the nutrients a baby receives, and will displace a mother’s milk supply. In addition, a baby’s digestive system is not prepared for solid food until after 6 months of life.
Years ago, culture and traditions found it ok to offer teas, water, juices and solid foods to baby’s as early as birth. Even though parents offered these non-breast milk feedings thinking that they would help their baby with colic, hydration or constipation, through research we now know that these practices can cause more harm than they can cause good, and can lead to conditions such as allergies and obesity in future years.¹ ²
Discussing your approach to weaning with all of your infant-caregivers (daycare staff, family members, etc.) and ensuring that they understand and respect your infant feeding practices is very important. It is best to begin this conversation with friends and family before your baby is born. This will allow time for others (who may not have fed their babies the way you plan to feed your baby) to become accustomed to the idea of new feeding methods.
Healthy Weaning
· Wait until your baby is 6 months or older to introduce solids; some babies don’t accept solids until closer to one year
· Continue ensuring that most of your baby’s feeds still come from breast milk, even after your baby is regularly eating solid foods
· Make food-introduction about baby learning new tastes and textures, not about quantity of food baby can take; offering too much too soon can lower a mother’s milk supply since baby may be too full to feed at the breast often
· Begin with foods that contain one ingredient, then offer new foods about a week after the first; this will help you identify offending foods if your baby develops sensitivities
· Some parents begin offering blander flavors such as vegetables
· Only offer nutrient-dense foods that your family would normally eat; NEVER offer an infant junk food, and never offer an infant under one year cow’s milk
Never Ever
Never force feed a baby, or use a “volu-feeder” (a device which allows baby to suck out their food) or make a larger hole in a bottle in order to mix solids with milks (for example, mixing infant cereal with milk in order to ‘thicken’ feeds); this is dangerous, and can lead to over-feeding and choking
***
¹American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Allergy and Immunology. Effects of early nutritional interventions on the development of atopic disease in infants and children: the role of maternal dietary restriction, breastfeeding, timing of introduction of complementary foods, and hydrolyzed formulas. Pediatrics. 2008 Jan;121(1):183-91.
²Arenz S, e. a. (2003). Breast-feeding and childhood obesity--a systemic review. Journal of Obesity Related Metabolic Disorders, (10):1247-56.
Because breast milk is superior in nutrition than solid food, offering solid food too soon (before 6 months of age) or too frequently will reduce the nutrients a baby receives, and will displace a mother’s milk supply. In addition, a baby’s digestive system is not prepared for solid food until after 6 months of life.
Years ago, culture and traditions found it ok to offer teas, water, juices and solid foods to baby’s as early as birth. Even though parents offered these non-breast milk feedings thinking that they would help their baby with colic, hydration or constipation, through research we now know that these practices can cause more harm than they can cause good, and can lead to conditions such as allergies and obesity in future years.¹ ²
Discussing your approach to weaning with all of your infant-caregivers (daycare staff, family members, etc.) and ensuring that they understand and respect your infant feeding practices is very important. It is best to begin this conversation with friends and family before your baby is born. This will allow time for others (who may not have fed their babies the way you plan to feed your baby) to become accustomed to the idea of new feeding methods.
Healthy Weaning
· Wait until your baby is 6 months or older to introduce solids; some babies don’t accept solids until closer to one year
· Continue ensuring that most of your baby’s feeds still come from breast milk, even after your baby is regularly eating solid foods
· Make food-introduction about baby learning new tastes and textures, not about quantity of food baby can take; offering too much too soon can lower a mother’s milk supply since baby may be too full to feed at the breast often
· Begin with foods that contain one ingredient, then offer new foods about a week after the first; this will help you identify offending foods if your baby develops sensitivities
· Some parents begin offering blander flavors such as vegetables
· Only offer nutrient-dense foods that your family would normally eat; NEVER offer an infant junk food, and never offer an infant under one year cow’s milk
Never Ever
Never force feed a baby, or use a “volu-feeder” (a device which allows baby to suck out their food) or make a larger hole in a bottle in order to mix solids with milks (for example, mixing infant cereal with milk in order to ‘thicken’ feeds); this is dangerous, and can lead to over-feeding and choking
***
¹American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Allergy and Immunology. Effects of early nutritional interventions on the development of atopic disease in infants and children: the role of maternal dietary restriction, breastfeeding, timing of introduction of complementary foods, and hydrolyzed formulas. Pediatrics. 2008 Jan;121(1):183-91.
²Arenz S, e. a. (2003). Breast-feeding and childhood obesity--a systemic review. Journal of Obesity Related Metabolic Disorders, (10):1247-56.
Use of this class by non-parents: This class has been written for parents, and while birth and breastfeeding professionals may share it with their clients, it must be shared as a web-links or printed directly from this site. This class or any portion of it cannot be used a class outline for another breastfeeding professionals' breastfeeding class, nor can any portion of it be copied or pasted. Any dissemination of this class must be in its entire original form (weblink or printed pages) and must cite Breastfeeding Housecalls and Laura Gruber, IBCLC as its author and owner.
