• Amy Brown and Michelle Lee.
• School of Health and Human Sciences, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP, UK. a.e.brown@swansea.ac.uk
• Matern Child Health J. 2011 Nov 1; 15 (8): 1265-71.

AbstractA controlling maternal feeding style has been shown to have a negative impact on child eating style and weight in children over the age of 12 months. The current study explores maternal feeding style during the period of 6-12 months when infants are introduced to complementary foods. Specifically it examines differences between mothers who choose to follow a traditional weaning approach using spoon feeding and pureés to mothers following a baby-led approach where infants are allowed to self feed foods in their solid form. Seven hundred and two mothers with an infant aged 6-12 months provided information regarding weaning approach alongside completing the Child Feeding Questionnaire. Information regarding infant weight and perceived size was also collected. Mothers following a baby-led feeding style reported significantly lower levels of restriction, pressure to eat, monitoring and concern over child weight compared to mothers following a standard weaning response. No association was seen between weaning style and infant weight or perceived size. A baby-led weaning style was associated with a maternal feeding style which is low in control. This could potentially have a positive impact upon later child weight and eating style. However due to the cross sectional nature of the study it cannot be ascertained whether baby-led weaning encourages a feeding style which is low in control to develop or whether mothers who are low in control choose to follow a baby-led weaning style.

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