Giving your baby solid food early will not help him sleep better

New research claims that giving babies solid foods as early as three months of age will help them sleep.

Although this may seem appealing to exhausted new parents, there is unfortunately a gap between the headlines and the data.

Much of the evidence published in this area actually shows the opposite, that what a baby eats has nothing to do with his sleep.

In 2015, we found that neither bad milk nor infant formula, amount of solids consumed affected how often babies woke up between six and twelve months

READ MORE:
* When did you introduce solids?
* Surviving the first weeks with a newborn
* I was exhausted, so I hired a sleep coach

Another study showed that the common practice of adding rice cereals to a bottle before going to bed (which should be avoided as it can cause choking) does not occur. has no impact on sleep at four months. was badociated with less sleep at the age of 12 months

The recent study is an excellent example of how statistically significant differences and real-world differences may be distant several kilometers. The authors themselves note that no difference in waking was observed before the age of five months, despite a group having three month solids.

From this point on, babies in the early introduction group technically slept more, but this represents an average of only seven minutes more per night. At maximum (six months), the difference was 16 minutes

Most of the babies in the study woke up again once or twice a night, regardless of their food. And since these numbers are based on the self-report of sleep deprived parents – which often does not match sleep records – this is not a basis for making major changes to infant feeding practices .

Early solid foods would help a baby to sleep. First, babies (after the first few weeks) do not wake up just at night because they are hungry. Just like adults, they wake up because they are cold, that they are uncomfortable or that they just want comfort. The difference being that they can not always calm down.

Second, even if it was for hunger, the most sensible solution would be to offer extra milk because it would give more energy, fat and protein than any other food .

The purpose of the study from which these data originated was not to increase the overall energy intake, but to test how the introduction of allergenic foods to three to six months affects the development of allergies (which was not the case).

Parents were advised to give very small quantities of allergenic foods (one egg, 25g of fish and 100g of yogurt spread over a week – a few spoonfuls a day) with rice, cereals, fruits and vegetables. 19659007] All of these foods have fewer calories than badmilk or formula, but take up more space, which means babies can even eat a little less when they get used to weaning. group was accustomed to food

SOLID SLEEP

Less than half of the parents in the early introduction group held to protocol. A variety of reasons have been given, but a major problem with the early introduction of solids is that babies are simply not physiologically ready.

At three months, many can only have good control of the head. They will not be able to sit properly. They always have a nauseous reflex that pushes food out of their mouths. The early introduction of solids can be messy, long and demoralizing because babies are simply not equipped to eat solid foods as quickly.

Research shows that the earlier a baby is weaned, the more he needs to eat something other than a few tastes. One study found that if babies received solid foods before four months, it took them six weeks on average to eat only 100ml of food a day, but only 12 days for those weaned at the recommended six months.

Food at six months is there for a good reason. There is no growth or nutrient deficiency while waiting for six months to introduce solid foods, but there is an increased risk of gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases in infants fed with food. solid before this date

. the intake of bad milk (and its badociated antibodies), the introduction of contaminants and can cause digestive difficulties because babies do not develop all the enzymes necessary to properly digest solid foods before the age four to six months.

Babies in the study were a very specific group. Almost all were badfed up to the age of six months – 97%, compared with only 34% in the UK population. Research shows that badfeeding by introducing solid foods is important for reducing the development of allergies, but often the early introduction of solids increases the risk of stopping badfeeding.

You have to be very generalized. The research raises the question: does the early introduction of solids – with all the badociated risks – really carry more weight if it comes with a few minutes of sleep each night? It seems to me that we should ask ourselves why parents struggle so much with sleep and look for better ways to support them instead.

For tips on when to introduce solids, see plunket.org.nz.

Amy Brown is a professor of infant public health at the University of Swansea. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.