Baby led weaning or BLW is starting to be widely discussed in Indonesia lately. The method of feeding children who are somewhat different gets the pros and cons of the community, one of which concerns the safety side.
Baby led weaning is an alternative method for introducing Little to solid food when he reaches 6 months of age. With this method, Little is given food that has been cut into pieces and allowed to eat alone using his hands, not fed with a kind of soft food porridge.
According to research, baby led weaning can make your child know and eat a variety of foods early. There are also studies that say if BLW makes Little Choose healthier foods. However, although supported by scientific evidence, there are also those who question the safety of Little if BLW is applied.
Does BLW Make a Baby Choke and Choke?
One thing parents worry about baby led weaning is whether it can make your child choke and stimulate vomiting. This is understandable considering that the food recommended by BLW is whole and not crushed.
Experts say that gag stimulation (gagging) is the normal reflex of the Little One when he learns to eat solid food. Gagging (movement to vomit accompanied by coughing and watery eyes) will decrease as your little one develops and learns to regulate the amount of food that he ingests.
In addition to triggering the gag reflex, there is also concern that baby lead weaning can make your child choke. According to those who agree with BLW, this method is safe to practice as long as it is eating Little One in an upright sitting position. In addition, your child can also control the amount of food that enters his mouth, chew, and swallow it. This is considered sufficient to minimize the risk of your child choking.
Meanwhile, according to the American Academy of Pediatricians (AAP), for your heart it is said to be ready to eat solid food if he can sit and put food into his own mouth. But to reduce the risk of choking, the texture of your baby's food must be soft, easy to swallow, and small in size. In other words, the food must be cut into small pieces or crushed first.
The AAP also warns that food choking is one of the leading causes of death among young children. They also advise against giving food that needs to be chewed for children who are less than 12 months old.
If you want to try baby led weaning in children, avoid the following foods that risk making your child choke:
- Sausages or hot dogs.
- Nuts and seeds.
- Large pieces of meat or cheese.
- Whole wine.
- Popcorn or popcorn.
- Raisins.
- Raw and hard vegetables and fruit.
- The diced food is too small, like fruit.
- Hard, chewy, or sticky candy.
Whereas foods suitable for baby led weaning include:
- Chopped vegetables are cut into stems, such as carrots and boiled yams.
- Broccoli and cauliflower are steamed or boiled.
- Avocados are destroyed.
- Quenched chicken.
- Real meatballs.
- Bananas, papayas, pears, kiwi, melons and steamed apples.
- Easy-to-hold pasta like fusilli or penne.
- Rice formed round.
If you want to adopt the baby led weaning method for your child, it is advisable to consult first with a pediatrician. Especially if:
- Little was born premature.
- Little needs special attention, can not chew properly, or difficulty taking food and bringing it to the mouth.
- There is a family history of allergies, digestive problems, or food intolerance.
Feeding your child with the baby led weaning method or BLW is still being debated and requires further evidence and research. The Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia and the WHO have not yet recommended this method because so far there has been no accurate evidence of the safety and superiority of baby led weaning when compared to the usual MPASI delivery method. Therefore, once again, discuss with your doctor first if you want to practice this method in your child.
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