The first study of a national-representative group of U.S. infants reported that maximum parents have started feeding their babies on foods and drinks at a very less age rather than feeding them on breast milk. It is also seen that babies who are not breastfed for less than four months are more likely to be introduced to foods too early.
Giving infants complementary foods at an early age can make them miss out some important nutrients that they can only have from breast milk and infant formula. This leads to deficiencies, allergies, and poorer diets later in life. Current recommendations say that infants should be given complementary foods at around six months of age.
The survey also asked what infants were first fed anything other than breast milk or formula and it included juice, cow’s milk, sugar water, baby food and honey.
The finding from the survey underlined the need to introduce foods at a proper age and also the benefits of breastfeeding. The study appeared in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics published by ANI.
