Solid Food for Babies - Why wait till 6 months?
When to introduce solid foods can be a bit of a controversial one.The WHO guidance recommends no solid foods at all, un till the age of six months. Not even water, just formula or breast milk.
GPs* or paediatricians may be a bit more lax and treat six months like an upper limit. Some believe that it is safe to introduce solids from four months, as a supplement alongside your baby's usual milk. A family friend of ours, who is a Paediatrician in small town in England, told me that she is not strict about the six months rule and in her opinion, it should be applied on a case by case, child by child, basis.
A Doctor might also advice you to try solid food before the six month mark, if your baby is colicky or suffers from reflux or any other gastro related issues, such as a suspected allergy/intolerance to cow milks protein or lactose (passed on through Mum's breastmilk). We are in the suspected allergy camp, which is why just shy of her 5 months mark, we have had to start solids.
So why the insistence on not trying 'real' food till baby is six months old and how many Mums follow the six months rule strictly?
Why six months
The two biggest reasons given are:
1) To give digestive systems time to develop so that they can fully cope with solid foods - UNICEF.
2) To allow baby to be better armed for avoiding illnesses,and other health risks of too early solids - Kelly Mom (KM).
Other reasons per KM include:
- Baby will be developmentally ready to eat foods - see signs of being developmentally ready as recommended by KM here
- Lower risk of obesity of baby in the future
- Starting solids will be easier
- Mom will easily maintain her milk supply
- Breastfeeding Mom is less likely to get pregnant
- Mom can quickly lose extra weight
In 2005**, 51% of babies in the UK had started solid foods by four months, 82% by 5 months and 98% by 6 months.
By 2010***, the number of babies started on solid foods by four months had dropped to 30%, 75% by 5 months and 94% by 6 months.
It sounds like most Mums here, do not wait till 6 months. The majority start round about the 5 months mark. I asked a couple of Mums I know, who live in various countries, and most said they started at 4 months or 5 months too. Only one Mum, in my rather small demographic of about eight, has told me she waited till 6 months. It feels as though the trend is moving closer to a 6 months start in the UK though, as Health Visitors who see every Mum after each birth, can be quite stern and insistent on Mums waiting, and it might just be that 2015 research reflects that.
The most compelling reasons for me to wait and hold out as long as possible (advice was actually for us to start at four months) was:
- to allow her digestive system to develop and
- the fact that starting later would mean a smoother (haha-pun!) and easier ride for both of us in terms of ease of transition. She would swallow more with less landing on the floor, be able to hold her spoon and feed herself (perhaps with more landing on the floor during this activity).
In the next post on solids, I will be sharing about your options for first food, utensils for weaning and... how our first try went, including pictures!
Have a great day.
x
** source
*** source
The Introducing Solid Foods Series by BForB:
Part II - Why wait till 6 months (this post)
Part III - Best utensils to buy & links to online stores (coming soon)
Part IV - Options for first food & our experience (coming soon)
Solid Food for Babies - Why wait till 6 months?
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