What is weaning? Weaning is the introduction of solids into a baby's diet. It is a gradual process, which involves slowly introducing a range of foods, until she is eating the same things as the rest of the family. The word 'weaning' is sometimes used to describe reducing milk intake and eventually stopping breastfeeding or formula altogether. In practice, the amount of milk your baby has [i]should[ei] decrease as she begins to have more solid foods. However, weaning in this book refers [i]only[ei] to the introduction of solids. This should happen alongside continued breastfeeding or bottle-feeding until your baby reaches her first birthday. "When we started weaning we had no idea what we were doing. We expected Conrad would start solids at about six months, but it took us a while to get going and he really started at seven months.

We didn't rush him. We just tried different things and gave him one new food at a time. But by eight months, he was eating pretty much whatever we had." Cory, dad to Conrad, 12 months When To Start The question of when to begin introducing solids doesn't have a simple answer, unfortunately. In the past few years, the official advice has changed from 'four months' to 'at least six months' and then back again. So what is going on? To work it out, we'll look at the official guidelines from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Department of Health (DoH), and unpick the reasoning behind this guidance. You'll then have the knowledge to be able to decide what's best for your baby, and be able to interpret official guidance appropriately. Current guidelines and debate The WHO recommends that, in general, babies should receive only breast milk for the first six months of life.

These guidelines were issued in 2001 as part of the WHO [i]global[ei] strategy for feeding infants and young children. Most experts agree that, in developing countries, exclusive breastfeeding is the best option. This is because hygiene levels there are often poor, so any alternative increases a baby's risk of gastroenteritis (vomiting and diarrhoea). In these countries, bottled milk and weaning foods may be of poor quality, and they are likely to have been prepared in very different conditions to those we have here. In recognition of the fact that some babies are bottle-fed already, the WHO set the same guidelines for them - bottle-fed babies should receive only formula until they are about six months old.