A brief overview of baby-led weaning, with some quotes and details from recent peer-reviewed academic research.

1. BABY-LED WEANING
AN INTRODUCTION
Julian Hopkins
September 2013

2. Spoon feeding babies is not
necessary
Is spoon feeding enjoyable – for you
and/or your baby?

3. BABY-LED WEANING
•Introducing solids from the
beginning
•Combined with breast-feeding
•Play and learn

4. GETTING PREPARED
WHAT DO YOU NEED?
• Baby
• High chair with tray
• Bib with a pouch
• Mat
• Steamer
• Patience
9
months
1
2

5. WHEN CAN YOU START?
•Able to sit up
•Wants to try food
6
months

6. WHAT FOOD TO OFFER BABY?
• Steamed
vegetables
• (Broccoli is
easy to
hold)
• Bread
crusts
• Mango
• …
• Soft but
not
mushy
• ‘Holdable
’
• ‘Chip
size’
• No salt,
etc.
8
months

7. WHAT FOOD TO OFFER BABY?
•What everyone else is having
8

8. SAFETY – BE PREPARED
•Choking
•Allergies
•Hot foods

10. the minefield of parenting advice
(Volders 2013)

11. WHY TRY BABY-LED WEANING?
research is required on whether infants following BLW
have adequate energy and iron intakes in particular
(Cameron et al. 2012: 1600)
To date, there has been very little research to support
baby-led weaning and, until there is more evidence, it
is difficult to draw any firm conclusions about the
potential benefits or problems it may offer.
(Reeves 2008: 109)

12. WHY TRY BABY-LED WEANING?
Our results suggest that infants weaned through the
baby-led approach learn to regulate their food intake
in a manner, which leads to a lower BMI and a
preference for healthy foods like carbohydrates. This
has implications for combating the well-documented
rise of obesity in contemporary societies
(Townsend & Pitchford 2012: 1)
Studies have shown that infants between the ages of
4 months and 2 years who consume foods that require
chewing generally have higher intakes of all
macronutrients than those infants who have yet to be
introduced to chewable foods
(Carruthet al. 2004, cited in Reeves 2008: 108)

13. WHY TRY BABY-LED WEANING?
responsive feeding [is] one of the most important
practices for encouraging healthy eating habits in early
life and should be encouraged in parents to reduce the
risk of obesity
(Schwartz et al. 2011, cited in Cameron et al. 2012:
1581)

14. WHY TRY BABY-LED WEANING?
Possible benefits
• Hand-eye
coordination
• Speech
• Family meals
• Less stress
• Cost
• Healthy relationship
with food
10
months

15. QUIZ
• What do you need for BLW?
• Basic equipment: chair & tray, mat, bib with pouch
• When can you start?
• Once Baby can sit up, and wants to try your food
• What foods can you start with?
• Simple foods: vegetables, fruits, bread
• Should you stop breast feeding?
• No
• What are the possible benefits?
• Hand-eye coordination, Speech, Family meals, Less stress, Cost, healthy relationship with
food

16. LISTEN TO OTHER PARENTS
http://www.babyledweaning.com/forum/

17. THINK ABOUT IT
• Is it easy to do?
• Do babies like it?
• Do babies eat enough?
• Do parents like it?
• Does research tend to support it?
YES NO
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18. REFERENCES
• CAMERON, S. L., A.-L. M. HEATH & R. W. TAYLOR 2012. How Feasible Is Baby-Led Weaning as
an Approach to Infant Feeding? A Review of the Evidence. Nutrients 4, 1575–1609.
• REEVES, S. 2008. Baby-led weaning. Nutrition Bulletin 33, 108–110 (available on-line:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-3010.2008.00685.x, accessed ).
• TOWNSEND, E. & N. J. PITCHFORD 2012. Baby knows best? The impact of weaning style on
food preferences and body mass index in early childhood in a case–controlled sample. BMJ
Open 2 (available on-line: http://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/2/1/e000298.abstract, accessed 11
September 2013).
• VOLDERS, E. 2013. Baby-led weaning: food and the minefield of parenting advice. The
Conversation, 9 July (available on-line: http://theconversation.com/baby-led-weaning-food-
and-the-minefield-of-parenting-advice-8637, accessed 11 September 2013).

19. IMAGES
1. IKEA (1999-2012). ANTILOP [photograph].
Available from:
http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/000
69725/ (accessed 11 September 2013).
2. IKEA (1999-2012). ANTILOP (tray) [photograph].
Available from:
http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/400
76093/ (accessed 11 September 2013).