Weaning practice in the Glasgow Longitudinal Infant Growth Study

Abstract

Aims: To assess compliance with Department of Health guidelines on weaning practice in a representative sample of 127 infants from Glasgow, and to identify factors influencing timing of weaning.

Methods: Questionnaires on feeding and weaning were completed during home visits. Ninety eight mothers completed a further questionnaire on attitudes to weaning.

Results: Median age at introduction of solid food was 11 weeks (range 4-35 weeks); only 7% of infants had not been weaned before age 4 months. There was no difference in timing of weaning between boys and girls. Younger mothers (< 20 years old), those of lower socioeconomic status, and those who formula fed their infants tended to introduce solids earlier. Infants who were heaviest before weaning were weaned earlier. Seventy three of 98 mothers reported that they weaned their babies because they felt that they required more food. Sources of information influencing time of weaning were previous experience (53/98), books and leaflets (43/98), advice from the health visitor (31/98), and family and friends (15/98). Sixty five of 98 mothers reported receiving formal information on weaning, in most cases (54) this was from the health visitor. Mothers who received formal information tended to wean their infants later. Two per cent of infants had been given cow's milk as a main drink by age 6 months, 17% by 9 months, and 45% by the end of the first year.

Conclusion: Compliance with recommendations on timing of weaning (not before 4 months), weaning foods, and cow's milk consumption in Glasgow is poor, although no poorer than in many other areas of the UK as found by Office of Population, Censuses and Surveys. Public health messages in relation to weaning may not be reaching their target audience.