Method: Mother-infant dyads (n=1035) were recruited into the Healthy Smiles Healthy Kidsstudy by Child and Family Health Nurses at the first post-natal home visit. Data collected via telephone interviews at 17, 34 and 52 weeks postpartum included timing of introduction of solid foods and a variety of maternal and infant characteristics associated with the introduction of solid foods. Multiple logistic regression was used to identify those factors associated with the risk of introducing solid foods early, which for the purpose of this study was defined as being before 22 weeks.
Result: The median age of introduction of solid foods was 22 weeks. In total, 41.9 percent of infants had received solids before 22 weeks and 80.0 percent of infants had received their first solid food before 26 weeks of age. The strongest independent predictors for the early introduction of solid food were maternal country of birth, maternal education level, maternal occupation, maternal age, smoking status of the mother post-partum, formula feeding at 4 weeks post-partum, and birth term of the baby. In general, mothers introduced solids earlier than recommended because they perceived that their baby was hungry or old enough to wean.
Conclusion: This study showed a high level of non-compliance among Australian mothers with infant feeding recommendations related to the timing of introduction of solid foods. In order to improve compliance health professionals need to be aware of those groups least likely to comply with recommendations and their reasons for non-compliance.