STUDY OBJECTIVE Retrospective infant feeding data are important to the study of child and adult health patterns. The accuracy of maternal recall of past infant feeding events was examined and specifically the infant's age when breast feeding was stopped and formula feeding and solid foods were introduced. DESIGN AND SETTING The sample consisted of Bedouin Arab women (n = 318) living in the Ne...

An alternative to traditional weaning methods known as baby-led weaning (BLW) appears to be emerging in the UK. This approach advocates bypassing typical weaning practices of spoon-feeding puréed foods or baby rice, encouraging instead the introduction of foods in their whole form to the infant from 6 months old. A key tenet of BLW is self-feeding. Anecdotally, the practice of BLW appears to be...

According to current recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF),1 health workers should protect, promote and support exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months and continued breastfeeding up to 2 years of age or beyond. However, exclusive breastfeeding is not an option for all infants for several reasons. Newborn infants who need supplemen...

Recent crises in regions where exclusive breastfeeding is not the norm have highlighted the importance of effective policies and guidelines on infant feeding in emergencies. In 1993, UNICEF compiled a collection of policy and guideline documents relating to the feeding of infants in emergency situations. In June 2000 Save the Children, UK, UNICEF and the Institute of Child Health undertook a re...

BACKGROUND Cows' milk allergy (CMA) is the most common infant food allergy in the United Kingdom, requiring a strict exclusion diet. Feeding difficulties and fussy eating are also very common problems in young children and can negatively influence feeding and dietary intake in an infant with CMA. The aim of this study was to compare the levels of fussy eating and feeding difficulties in two gro...

OBJECTIVES We explore the complex factors associated with infant feeding by analyzing what mother, infant, and household factors are associated with the types of food given to infants. We seek to quantify associations in order to inform public health policy about the importance of target populations for infant feeding programs. METHODS We used data from the Demographic Health Survey in 20 dev...

The preparation and dissemination of policy statements are necessary but insufficient to prevent the inappropriate use of infant-feeding products in emergencies. The widespread failure of humanitarian agencies operating in the Balkan crisis to act in accordance with international policies and recommendations provides a recent example of the failure to translate infant-feeding policies into prac...

BACKGROUND To prevent breastfeeding problems, cup-feeding has been recommended as a method of providing medically necessary supplemental feedings to breastfed infants. OBJECTIVES To compare amounts ingested, administration time, and infant physiologic stability during cup-, bottle-, and breastfeeding. DESIGN/METHODS A total of 98 term, healthy newborns were randomized to either cup-feeding ...

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to describe current trends in parent education on infant feeding in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and to clarify the role of the occupational therapist in educating parents. METHOD Questionnaires were mailed to 190 neonatologists across the United States who were asked to forward it to a NICU occupational therapist. The questionnaire gathered...

OBJECTIVE Our objective with this study was to examine whether observed maternal control during feeding at 6 months of age moderates the development of early infant weight gain during the first year of life. METHODS Sixty-nine women were observed feeding their 6-month-old infants during a standard meal. Mealtimes were coded for maternal use of controlling feeding behavior. All infants were we...