The effect of beikost on the diet of breast-fed infants

To clarify the role of beikost (nonmilk foods) in the diet of the breast-fed infant, 45 infants were studied longitudinally from birth to 6 months of age. All were exclusively breast fed from birth; they received beikost as their first non-breast-milk food. The infants were selected from a sample of 91 normal American infants consuming maternal-selected diets. Weight and length were measured at monthly intervals from birth. Diet data were collected using 24-hour diaries completed by mothers every eight days throughout the study. Age at introduction of first beikost averaged 120.8 days (range 36 to 178 days). When the infants were less than 4 months of age (N = 12), first consumption of beikost was accompanied by decreasing nursing frequency. In contrast, the infants who were introduced to beikost at a later age (N = 33) showed stable or increasing nursing frequency. Those apparently age-related roles of beikost as dietary "replacements" or "additions" were confirmed by growth analyses. Although groups were similar at birth and 1 month, replacement infants had significantly lower weights for length and age after 2 months. Those results suggest that for breast-fed infants, early introduction of beikost reduces milk consumption and may lead to significantly lower weight gain than continuation of the exclusive breast-milk diet.