Forty percent of all mothers start feeding their babies solid food before they reach four months of age, according to a study published in the journal Pediatrics.
And while the American Academy of Pediatrics, AAP, recommends that solid food be introduced into a baby's diet starting at four months, research reveals that healthcare providers are telling mothers to start before the recommended age.
The AAP sets these recommendations because head and neck function necessary for ingesting solid foods safely are not fully developed until four months, the organization noted in the study---also citing the increased risk for developing chronic diseases like diabetes, obesity, eczema and celiac disease associated with early solid food introduction.
Kelley Scanlon, an epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and co-author of the study, explains what the findings reveal about the larger issue regarding the early introduction of solid food into a baby's diet.
"Understanding parents' motivations is important, because a number of health problems are associated with the early introduction of solid food," Scanlon told CBS affiliate station WLTX-TV.
"These findings don't offer a full understanding why, but they give us some insight."
Mothers who participated in the survey said that they started their child on solid food before four months for various reasons, including that it helped their baby to sleep longer through the night and that they simply felt their child was old enough to begin a solid food diet.
More than 1,300 mothers were surveyed as part of the study that investigated when and why they initiated a solid food regimen for their child.
"We didn't expect to see so many [give solids] before four months," Scanlon said.
Scanlon added that the numbers from this study are significantly higher than those of previous studies that reported values ranging from 19 to 29 percent.
Doctors involved with the study asserted that breastfeeding should even be carried out until six months of age because of a wide array of health benefits like a reduced risk for developing diarrhea, diabetes, obesity and sudden infant death syndrome.