Recommendations on Complementary Food Introduction Among Pediatric Practitioners

Abstract

IMPORTANCE The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend waiting 3 to 5 days between the introduction of new complementary foods (solid foods introduced to infants <12 months of age), yet with advances in the understanding of infant food diversity, the guidance that pediatric practitioners are providing to parents is unclear. OBJECTIVE To characterize pediatric practitioner recommendations regarding complementary food introduction and waiting periods between introducing new foods. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In this survey study, a 23-item electronic survey on complementary food introduction among infants was administered to pediatric health care professionals from February 1 to April 30, 2019. Responses were described among the total sample and compared among subgroups. Survey invitations were emailed to 2215 members of the Illinois Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the national American Academy of Pediatrics' Council on Early Childhood. Participants were required to be primary medical practitioners, such as physicians, resident physicians, or nurse practitioners, providing pediatric care to infants 12 months or younger. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The main outcome measures were recommendations on age of complementary food introduction and waiting periods between the introduction of new foods. Categorical survey items were reported as numbers (percentages) and 95% CIs. Means (SDs) were used to describe continuous survey items. RESULTS The survey was sent to 2215 practitioners and completed by 604 (response rate, 27.3%). Of these respondents, 41 were excluded because they did not provide care for infants or pediatric patients. The final analyses included responses from 563 surveys. Of these, 454 pediatricians (80.6%), 85 resident physicians (15.1%), and 20 nurse practitioners (3.6%) completed the survey. Only 217 practitioners (38.6%; 95% CI, 34.1%-44.6%) recommended waiting 3 days or longer between food introduction; 259 practitioners (66.3%; 95% CI, 61.4%-70.8%) recommended waiting that amount of time for infants at risk for food allergy development (P = .02). A total of 264 practitioners (46.9%; 95% CI, 42.8%-51.0%) recommended infant cereal as the first food, and 226 practitioners (40.1%; 95% CI, 36.1%-44.2%) did not recommend a specific order. A total of 268 practitioners (47.6%; 95% CI, 43.5%-51.7%) recommended food introduction at 6 months for exclusively breastfed (EBF) infants, and 193 (34.3%; 95% CI, 30.5%-38.3%) recommended food introduction at 6 months for non-EBF infants (P < .001); 179 practitioners (31.8%; 95% CI, 28.1%-35.8%) recommended food introduction at 4 months for EBF infants, and 239 practitioners (42.5%; 95% CI, 38.4%-46.6%) recommended food introduction at 4 months for non-EBF infants (P < .001). A need for additional training on complementary food introduction was reported by 310 practitioners (55.1%; 95% CI, 50.9%-59.1%).

Exploring Physicians’ Perspectives on the Introduction of Complementary Foods to Infants and Toddlers

“…These are very encouraging results. However, some studies show that physicians often misunderstand the nutritional guidelines, thus it is worth clarifying and discussing these guidelines, for example, during training meetings and workshops [22][23][24]. As a matter of fact, knowledge on the influence of nutrition during the first years of life on later health has grown significantly in recent years, both among doctors and the general population [25,26].…”

Harmonizing allergy care–integrated care pathways and multidisciplinary approaches

“… 39 Similar inadequacies are demonstrated in UK, US, Korean, and Russian studies. 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 …”

Modern Principles of Managing Children with Food Allergies

“…Ключевым правилом введения прикорма детям с высоким риском развития атопии является назначение монокомпонентных продуктов, а также соблюдение принципа постепенного расширения рациона (не более 1 продукта в день) [97]. Оптимальный интервал между введением новых продуктов до настоящего времени точно не определен, однако исследователи отмечают необходимость обеспечения ребенка разнообразной пищей и нежелательность излишней пролонгации при расширении рациона ребенка [86,97].…”