Impact of a Modified Version of Baby-Led Weaning on Infant Food and Nutrient Intakes: The BLISS Randomized Controlled Trial

Liz Williams Erickson, Rachael W Taylor, Jillian J Haszard, Elizabeth A Fleming, Lisa Daniels, Brittany J Morison, Claudia Leong, Louise J Fangupo, Benjamin J Wheeler, Barry J Taylor, Lisa Te Morenga, Rachael M McLean, Anne-Louise M Heath, Liz Williams Erickson, Rachael W Taylor, Jillian J Haszard, Elizabeth A Fleming, Lisa Daniels, Brittany J Morison, Claudia Leong, Louise J Fangupo, Benjamin J Wheeler, Barry J Taylor, Lisa Te Morenga, Rachael M McLean, Anne-Louise M Heath

Abstract

Despite growing international interest in Baby-Led Weaning (BLW), we know almost nothing about food and nutrient intake in infants following baby-led approaches to infant feeding. The aim of this paper was to determine the impact of modified BLW (i.e., Baby-Led Introduction to SolidS; BLISS) on food and nutrient intake at 7⁻24 months of age. Two hundred and six women recruited in late pregnancy were randomized to Control (n = 101) or BLISS (n = 105) groups. All participants received standard well-child care. BLISS participants also received lactation consultant support to six months, and educational sessions about BLISS (5.5, 7, and 9 months). Three-day weighed diet records were collected for the infants (7, 12, and 24 months). Compared to the Control group, BLISS infants consumed more sodium (percent difference, 95% CI: 35%, 19% to 54%) and fat (6%, 1% to 11%) at 7 months, and less saturated fat (-7%, -14% to -0.4%) at 12 months. No differences were apparent at 24 months of age but the majority of infants from both groups had excessive intakes of sodium (68% of children) and added sugars (75% of children). Overall, BLISS appears to result in a diet that is as nutritionally adequate as traditional spoon-feeding, and may address some concerns about the nutritional adequacy of unmodified BLW. However, BLISS and Control infants both had high intakes of sodium and added sugars by 24 months that are concerning.

Keywords: Baby-Led Introduction to SolidS; Baby-Led Weaning; complementary feeding; food intake; infants; nutrient intake; traditional spoon-feeding.

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow of participants through the study.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Descriptions of the nine food groups to which foods were assigned.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Mean proportion of energy from each food group at 7 and 12 months of age. See Figure 2 for definitions of the nine food groups that foods were assigned to.

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