Mercury News – by Genevra Pittman
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Four in 10 new parents start feeding their babies solid foods before their four-month birthday, according to a new study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Physician groups including the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) currently recommend against parents introducing solid foods until infants are about six months old. In part, that’s because early solids have been tied to obesity and other chronic conditions and because public health experts agree it’s best if mothers can breastfeed exclusively for six months.
“Introducing solid foods early means that the baby gets less breast milk over the course of their infancy, and that decreases the ability to get optimal benefits, like protection against infection,” said Dr. Alice Kuo, from the UCLA Center for Healthier Children, Families and Communities.