Authors
Jane Scott, Andrea Begley, Roslyn Giglia, A Paganin
Publication date
2015
Journal
Maternal and Child Nutrition
Volume
11
Issue
Supplement 2
Pages
108-108
Publisher
Wiley
Description
The current Australian Infant Feeding Guidelines (AIFG) recommend that infants receive solids at around 6 months of age (National Health and Medical Research Council 2012), by 5 months of age however 70% of Australian infants have started solids. While there is some evidence that Western Australian mothers are introducing solids later than they did in 2003 when the recommendation was to introduce solids between 4-6 months, relatively little is known about mother’s understanding of the AIFG and reasons why the majority choose not, or are unable, to adhere to the AIFG. The objectives of this research were to 1) identify women’s familiarity with infant feeding recommendations; 2) describe their actual infant feeding experiences; and 3) explore socio-ecological factors that determine women’s decisions and practices related to the introduction of solids. Seven focus group interviews were conducted consisting of mothers (n=42) of infants under 18 months recruited predominantly from areas of medium socioeconomic disadvantage in Perth, Western Australia. Interviews were audio-taped, transcribed and thematically interpreted. The mean age of the infants of the focus group participants was 9.6 months and mean age of introduction of solids was 4.3 months (range 1.2 to 7.5 months). Just under half of participant mothers indicated they had heard of the AIFG but only half of them correctly identified 6 months as the recommended age for introducing solids. Several themes emerged from the analysis related to the social construction of infants, infant autonomy and trust in sources of information on feeding infants that provide insights into the …