Introduction: Traditionally, babies are introduced to solid foods by the spoon, yet in recent
years the baby-led weaning method has become increasingly popular. Baby-led weaning is
based on three principles: finger food is offered, the baby sets its own pace and determines
how much and what to eat, and they are included in family meals. The strict form of baby-led
weaning should not include spoon-feeding. Purpose: We want to present the baby-led
weaning method and its benefits. By reviewing studies, we want to explore the risks and
challenges of the method and the role the midwife in the introduction of solid foods using
the baby-led weaning method. Methods: A descriptive method of work is used with a
systematic review of the scientific literature in the verification of set claims with meta-synthesis of scientific studies.
We used the time frame published from 2007 to 2022. The
literature was published on CINAHL, PubMed, The Cochrane Library, Science Direct,
Google scholar and SpringerLink. The analysis included 27 articles. The literature was
searched in English language with the keywords BLW AND parents, BLW AND healthcare
workers, BLW AND anaemia AND underweight, BLW AND choking. Results: The
popularity of the baby-led weaning is increasing among parents. Parents describe baby-led
weaning as easy to follow, meals are often enjoyed together with child and they experience
meals as less stressful and enjoyable. Health professionals are an important source of
information at the time of introducing complementary foods. Baby-led weaning is not often
recommended, although the benefits of the method are well known. The health professionals
are of the opinion that they are not in a position to provide adequate advice due to lack of
solid scientific evidence. The results of a meta-synthesis of scientific studies have shown
that anaemia and malnutrition are slightly more common in baby-led weaning infants, but
improve after educating about appropriate complementary feeding. Baby-led weaning does
not increase the risk of choking in infants. Discussion and conclusion: A key role in
advising parents on the introduction of complementary food using baby-led weaning is to
have a good understanding of the method, its benefits, especially its potential pitfalls and
challenges and how to overcome them successfully. Since very little has been written about
introduction of food using baby-led weaning and the role of the midwife, further research is
important. By preparing quality professional literature, we would help educate health
professionals about baby-led weaning.
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