http://adc.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/abstract/archdischild%3b88/6/488

Full Text of this Article Reprint (PDF) Version of this Article Email this link to a friend eLetters: Submit a response to this article Similar articles found in: ADC Online PubMed PubMed Citation Search PubMed for articles by: Foote, K D || Marriott, L D Alert me when: new articles cite this article   Download to Citation Manager

Collections under which this article appears: Nutrition and Metabolism Barker Hypothesis Infants

Archives of Disease in Childhood 2003;88:488-492
© 2003 BMJ Publishing Group & Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
 

Weaning of infants

K D Foote¹ and L D Marriott²

¹ Department Paediatrics and Child Health, Royal Hampshire County Hospital, Winchester, Hampshire, UK
² Medical Research Council Environmental Epidemiology Unit, Tremona Rd, Southampton, UK

Correspondence to:
Dr K D Foote, Department Paediatrics and Child Health, Royal Hampshire County Hospital, Winchester, Hampshire SO22 5DG, UK;
keithfoote@doctors.org.uk

ABSTRACT
The WHO 2001 global recommendation is a one size fits all approach to weaning, an approach which may not take sufficient account of the special needs of some infants and fails to allow for the different problems encountered in the industrialised nations compared with economically developing countries. For the healthy normal birth weight full term infant born in an industrialised country, current research supports the benefit of exclusive breast milk feeding until 4–6 months. Evidence of harm through introducing solid food to these infants earlier than this is weak. Infants should be managed individually according to their needs.

Keywords: infant nutrition; complementary feeding; weaning