Parental Motivation for Introducing Babies' First Foods and Common Food Allergens

Findings from the Learning Early About Peanut trial prompted a shift in clinical practice guidelines to support the early and continuous introduction of allergenic foods to reduce the risk of food allergy. Our study aimed to describe the reasoning behind parents' decisions on the introduction of first foods to their infants and the age at which parents first introduced common allergens.

Parents of a child aged <18 years old with ≥1 food allergy, who lived in either Canada or the United States, were recruited via social media between March 2021 and February 2022 to participate in an online, anonymous survey. Data were analyzed descriptively and using binary logistic regression.

A total of 42 parents completed the survey, the majority being mothers (40/42; 95.2%). Children were, on average, 6.9 ± 0.7 years old. In total, 47.6% of parents introduced first foods between ages 4-5 months, whereas 52.4% introduced first foods at 6 months or older. Cereals were the most frequently introduced first food (54.8%; 23/42). Most parents (71.9%) selected first foods to introduce based on guidance from healthcare providers.

For many parents, guidance from healthcare providers is the most influential factor in determining when and what to introduce as first foods to their infant. Although the paradigm shift in infant feeding practices has been well accepted by healthcare providers, this information has not been adequately translated to the general population. This emphasizes the need for healthcare providers to educate and reinforce the importance of early introduction to reduce the risk of food allergy.