Babies take early solids "sleep longer and wake up less often" | New

The discovery was revealed in a study of King's College London and St George's University of London, published today in the journal JAMA Pediatrics

"We found a small but significant increase in sleep duration."

Michael Perkin

The researchers noted that the current advice from the government was that mothers should try to breastfeed exclusively up to At age six months, however, 75% of British mothers introduce solids within five months, 26% citing infant waking as influencing their decision.

In addition, current advice on the NHS site Choices indicate that solid foods will not make babies more likely to sleep all night and the Ministry of Health and Social Care advises that infants be introduced to solids when they are ready. 659005] The study Inquiring About Tolerance (EAT) – funded by the Food Standards Agency and the Medical Research Council – took place at St. Thomas Hospital between January 2008 and August 2015. [19659005] These were 1,303 exclusively breastfed infants from England and Wales who were divided into two groups

. breastfeed exclusively for about six months. The second group, while continuing to breastfeed, was asked to introduce solid foods into the diet of his children from the age of three months

"This study suggests that this advice needs to be re-examined in light of the evidence we have.

Gideon Lack

Parents completed monthly online questionnaires until their baby was 12 months of age, then every three months until they were 12 months old. at age 3.

The questionnaires recorded frequency of food consumption and included questions about: frequency and duration of breastfeeding, and questions about sleep duration.

Quality of life maternal was also assessed using the physical and psychological health measures, social and environmental relations of the World Health Organization, that the solids introduced early slept longer and became r were less frequent than infants who followed normal advice to breastfeed exclusively at about six months ag

The differences between the two groups peaked at six months, the group early onset dormant for a quarter of an hour (16.6 minutes) more per night (nearly two hours more per week), and their nocturnal waking frequency decreased. a little more than twice a night at 1.74.

Comments on maternal well-being showed that sleep problems, significantly related to maternal quality of life, were less frequently reported in healthy subjects before six months of age.

FSA Statement

The author of the main study, Professor Gideon Lack, of King's College London, said, "The results of this research corroborate the parents' widely held view of breastfeeding. the early introduction of solids improves sleep.

"While official guidelines are that starting to eat solid foods will not make babies more sleepy all night, this study suggests that its advice needs to be revisited in light of the evidence we have collected, "he said.

Dr. Michael Perkin, senior author of St George's, said:" It's a belief the solids help babies sleep better, and our

"We found a small but significant increase in sleep duration and less waking at night," he said. "Because infant sleep directly affects quality of life parents, even a small improvement can have significant benefits. "

The Food Standards Agency stated that the EAT study had" helped expand our knowledge ". 39, breastfeed exclusively during the first six months. "