Infants’ transition from milk to solid foods - the lived experiences of first-time parents

Annelise Norlyk,Jette Schilling Larsen,Hanne Kronborg

doi:10.1080/17482631.2019.1693483

Annelise Norlyk, Jette Schilling Larsen + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1080/17482631.2019.1693483

Copy DOI

Abstract

ABSTRACT Purpose: During the transition from ingesting milk to ingesting solid food, infants substantiate their eating habits. The present study focuses on this transition. Specifically, it aimed to explore first-time parents’ lived experiences of their infants’ transition from milk to solid foods. Method: The study is based on the descriptive phenomenological approach Reflective Lifeworld Research (RLR). Ten mothers and ten fathers were interviewed twice; when the infants were aged four to five months and again at seven to eight months of age. Data were analysed according to RLR principles. Results: The findings show that the transition from milk to solid food is a demanding in-between phase. The physically intimate feeding situation is replaced by unfamiliar situations in which parents and infant are physically separated and new types of food are introduced. The process of feeding requires parents’ full attention and sensitivity towards the infant’s reactions. Conclusion: The study highlights how shared parental experiences were reflected in frames for how a meal should normally proceed, including parents’ desire to create healthy eating habits and uphold harmony duringfamily meals We suggest for health professionals to present parents with a wider frame of normality, especially as concerns the concept of what constitutes “normal” eating patterns.

Highlights

At the age of four to nine months, infants should learn to eat food of different texture, taste and appearance (WHO, 2005, 2018)
The study highlights how shared parental experiences were reflected in frames for how a meal should normally proceed, including parents’ desire to create healthy eating habits and uphold harmony duringfamily meals
The present study draws on the descriptive phenomenological approach Reflective Lifeworld Research (RLR), which builds on epistemological assumptions from continental lifeworld theory in general and the philosophy of Husserl and Merleau-Ponty in particular (Dahlberg, Dahlberg, & Nyström, 2008)

Summary

Introduction

At the age of four to nine months, infants should learn to eat food of different texture, taste and appearance (WHO, 2005, 2018). The course of the infant’s introduction to food other than milk may influence the infant’s development and well-being in the short and in the long term (Blissett, 2011; Brown & Lee, 2015; Gunnarsdottir, Schack-Nielsen, & Michaelsen, 2009). Studies have shown a relations between the introduction of solid foods and the development of refusal to eat (Schmid, Schreier, Meyer, & Wolke, 2011), picky eating (Shim, Kim, & Mathai, 2011) and obesity later in life (Schack-Nielsen, Sorensen, Mortensen, & Michaelsen, 2010; Seach, Dharmage, Lowe, & Dixon, 2010). The establishment of healthy feeding practices early in life is important to promote lifelong healthy eating patterns and parents play a significant role during the transition phase

Objectives

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion