What is Baby Led Weaning and how does it compare to traditional weaning?

Baby led weaning is best practiced during family mealtimes when everyone is sitting together. Since babies like to copy others, they are more likely to put food in their mouths when everyone is doing the same. It is also more effective for the second or third children who can imitate their siblings at the dinner table.

In general small chunks of soft food that are usually consumed by the family are put in the baby’s plate. This gives the baby the freedom to explore new foods and tastes as per her own will, without being pressurised to consume a specific kind of food. While the process can help in the overall development of the baby and promote a healthier rate of weight gain, there have been some concerns about the nutritional aspects of this method. Some researchers have pointed out that this method can lead to the baby becoming underweight and further to an iron deficiency due to the lack of a balanced diet.

Traditional weaning versus baby led weaning

The traditional process of weaning generally follows a set of processes where the baby is introduced to solid food at around the age of four months. Different foods are introduced gradually and smooth purees are the first item that is offered. Gradually the sizes of the solid materials in the food are increased. While the method offers a safe and predictable approach, it takes more time and effort.

The range of food that can be offered to the baby is also limited. Baby led weaning bypasses this traditional approach and provides more freedom both to the parents and the baby. In this process, you offer the baby soft finger foods that are easy to hold and let her choose from what is offered. It is also suggested that the baby should be allowed to enjoy the real taste of food and the flavours, even the bitter ones and flavours should not be disguised.

There are concerns in some parents who think that baby led weaning can lead to less energy consumption for the baby, thereby affecting the growth patterns. But research has indicated that the total amount of fat and saturated fat consumed by a baby during this process is more than traditional methods of spoon feeding.

The total energy intake is also the same for both the processes and the baby led weaning method indicated no adverse effects on the overall growth rate of the baby. However, more effective research is necessary in this regard to obtain conclusive evidence.

When to start baby led weaning

As per experts in the American Academy of Pediatrics, the best time to start baby led weaning is from the age of six months. At this age, most babies have the necessary physical development that allows them to sit upright and grab hold of the food items by their fingers.

By this time, they can also use tongue-thrust to eliminate objects from their mouth and their digestive system is sufficiently developed to digest semi-solid food. At this period, the baby can also show interest in picking up the food items from other plates and put them in her mouth.

At first the baby might just grasp the food items by her fist and suck on them. With time the pincer grip will develop and will lead to better consumption of the food. To get the best judgement on the subject, you can also consult your paediatrician, who can provide the right set of guidelines to help you start the process.

How to start with baby led weaning

It is important to choose the food of the right size and texture that will help the baby to adopt more easily to the practice. It will also help in avoiding any problems and safety concerns that can come up while the bay is feeding own her own. Cutting the food into small-sized chunks that are easy for the bay to hold are good options.

It is also important to feed iron-rich food to the ay which include items like eggs, fish, beans, and leafy greens. Some other food items that are good choices are avocado, steamed broccoli, ground nuts and seeds, baked potatoes, skinless oranges and smashed berries.

Chopped and minced pieces of the food that the family is consuming can also be used for the process. You can place small amounts of a variety of food items in front of the baby during mealtime and allow her to bring it up to her mouth.

Some other benefits of baby led weaning

Apart from the main ones, here are some other advantages of bay led weaning.

• While handling their own food, babies also gain more confidence in their own abilities. The act of putting her own food in the mouth allows her to enjoy the taste, which is a kind of instant reward. This also allows her to discover the various tastes and her own preferences. This can also help the parents in choosing the right range of food for the baby. The process is also helpful for the baby to recognise various types of food based on their looks and tastes. It is often claimed that exposure to a wide variety of food can led to less picky eating behaviours.
• For many parents, spoon-feeding the baby is a tiring process that may not end successfully. The process of baby led weaning does not depend on persuasion and respects the baby’s decision to choose the type of food that she wants to eat. So it need not involve any games or tricks to make the baby eat the right kind of food and is an easier process for the parents.
• The overall process of baby led weaning is more enjoyable than the traditional methods. It makes the best use of the baby’s natural tendency to explore and learn and lead to happy and stress-free mealtimes. The method also allows the baby to participate more effectively in the family meals. It also allows the babies to learn about food at their own pace and develop a positive outlook towards food. At the same time the method also generates lower level of anxiety among the mothers.
• Feeding family food to the baby also exposes her to a number of allergens. This allows the identification of any food allergies at an early age.

The disadvantages of baby led weaning

Since the baby has all the freedom to play with the food, the process can be messy. But most babies learn quickly and in general, the messy period does not last long. At the same time, the process of spoon-feeding can be messy too.

• Babies can get iron-deficient at this point in time and that can be a downside of this process. In many cases, the paediatrician can add an iron supplement to the diet of the baby to reduce such risks.
• Many parents can have doubts regarding the safety aspects of this method as it might lead to choking. But studies have shown that baby-led weaners do not have more choking rates than the babies who are being spoon-fed. It may be noted that there is a difference between choking and gagging and gagging is quite common when the baby is learning to eat solid food

References
1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5438437/
2. https://blogs.extension.iastate.edu/scienceofparenting/2017/12/07/baby-led-weaning-just-the-facts/
3. https://www.aappublications.org/news/2016/09/27/baby-led-weaning-pediatrics-0916

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