Getting more solid sleep

BABIES who are given solid foods as well as breast milk from the age of three months show signs of sleeping better than infants fed only with milk until they are six months old, a new study carried out in Britain suggests.

The study of 1,303 children in England and Wales between 2009 and 2012 showed that babies given solids earlier than currently recommended did improve their sleep patterns.

The parents of half the children were encouraged to feed their babies solids, such as white fish or wheat, before six months, while the other half were told to stick to breast milk alone until that time.

The results, published last week in JAMA Pediatrics, showed that feeding babies solids brought down the median number of times they woke in the night from 2.01 to 1.74 times per night.

The duration of sleep also differed, up to 16 minutes more sleep per night.

The researchers from King’s College, London, and the University of London admitted it was possible that mothers giving their babies solids may have responded to their questions in a more positive manner, having expected a positive effect.

But they said it was unlikely that the bias would have persisted beyond six months. – AFP-Relaxnews