Why wait until Six Months for Solids?

Doctors usually recommend solid foods for infants after the age of six months. Infants usually push out solids out of their mouths using their tongue initially. When an infant reaches the six month mark, infants can take in solids and his/her body requires complementary food with the breastfeeding to promote growth, satisfy hunger and complete the nutrient and energy needs. But it should also be kept in mind that starting solids before four months can lead to various issues such as possibility of solids getting stuck in the airway, excessive calories and high risk of obesity. These reasons prevent infants from getting a good night’s sleep as well. Starting solids too late can lead to decreased growth of the infant, iron deficiency, delayed cognitive development and aversion to solids later on. Hence, there are various reasons for feeding solids after the age of six months and it is why infants are kept on breastmilk for the first six months exclusively to get the complete benefit of breastmilk. Below mentioned are few of the important reasons-

1. Stronger immunity from illnesses

Breastmilk is known to be the best source of all nutrients and proteins for an infants. Exclusively breastfeeding for the first six months, i.e. without feeding solids at all can develop stronger immunity in infants. Breast milk is known to be the magic potion for infants as it is made up of more than 50 immunity factors. Additionally, it aids in the development of “good bacteria” which protects your infants’ gut. Breastmilk is proven by studies to build immunity, thereby many conditions and illnesses are less likely to occur when your infant receives even a minimal amount of breast milk. Only breastfeeding for the initial 3-4 months at least further decreases the risk of disease such as necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), respiratory tract infections, type 1 diabetes ,ear infections, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), celiac disease, and allergic disease compared to non-exclusive breastfeeding. Breastfeeding exclusively for the whole of 6 months (compared to 4-6 Months) additionally reduces the risk of respiratory infection and gastrointestinal infection.

2. Baby’s digestive system will have time to mature-

A baby should be started on solids only when its body is ready to handle it. Starting solids earlier can lead to poor digestion and can also cause unpleasant reactions such as digestive upsets, gas, constipation etc. Digestion of various complex molecules such as fats, carbohydrates, and proteins is usually incomplete when a child is an infant, therefore breastmilk is preferred as it contains enzymes which help in efficient digestion. Additionally, till somewhere between four and six months of age from birth, babies have what is usually called as an “open gut.” It means that the gaps between the cells of the small intestines will automatically allow intact macromolecules, including pathogens and whole proteins, to pass directly into the bloodstream of the infant. This is an ideal situation if you are breastfeeding as it allows beneficial antibodies present in the breast milk to pass more directly into your infants bloodstream, but it also means that disease-causing pathogens and large proteins from other foods (which may predispose baby to allergies) can pass directly through as well. While the gut is still “open” which is during an infants’ initial 4-6 months, antibodies from the breast milk coat an infants’ digestive tract and thereby provide passive immunity. This drastically reduces the likelihood of allergic reactions and illnesses before the gut closure happens. Infants usually start producing these antibodies on his own at around 6 months, and gut closure would have occurred by this time.

3. The infant will be developmentally ready to eat solid foods-

During a clinical study, it was reported that the majority of normal full term infants were not developmentally ready for the change from suckling to sucking or for managing semi-solids and solid foods with liquids until they were between six and eight months of age.

4. Infants will have a lower risk of obesity in the future-

The introduction of solids early infancy is known to cause increased weight and body fat in adolescents and adults.

5. The infant may have more protection from iron-deficiency anaemia-

The provision of iron-fortified foods and iron supplements, particularly during the initial six months is known to reduce the efficiency of an infants’ iron absorption. A study of healthy full-term infants found that infants who were not give iron supplements or iron-fortified cereals and only breastfed for seven months, had significantly higher haemoglobin levels at the age of one year than babies who were breastfed and who received solid foods prior to seven months. The researchers found that were was no case of anaemia within the first year in babies who were only breastfed for the first seven months and it was concluded that breastfeeding exclusively for seven months reduces the risk of anaemia.