What Is Baby-Led Weaning? A Complete Guide (2024)

Twenty years ago, parents were encouraged to start giving their babies food at 4 months. But at that age, babies are not developmentally ready to grasp food and feed themselves. As a result, spoon-feeding blended food was the only safe way to add complementary foods.

Pediatric experts now recommend starting solid foods at 6 months. Most 6-month-old infants can grasp food, bring it to their mouth, chew and swallow. These skills mean babies can more independently feed themselves while weaning from human milk or formula nutrition.

Proponents of BLW methods claim it provides infants:

• Increased control with the speed of food introduction
• Better long-term appetite control
• A more varied diet
• Healthier long-term weight
• Less fussy eating as toddlers
• Exposure to healthier family foods rather than prepared infant foods
• A less expensive way to eat complementary foods

There is little quality research to support or refute any of these claims. There is evidence that responsive feeding methods may help establish long-term eating habits and reduce the risk of obesity. However, there is little data about responsive eating and BLW. In addition, scant evidence exists that BLW infants have a lower BMI through childhood. In cases where this is true, the association could also be due to longer breastfeeding.

Small studies suggest the infant calorie and macronutrient consumption in both BLW and traditional feeding is roughly equal. However, there’s no evidence that BLW decreases fussy eating or increases the variety of foods a toddler will consume^[1]Brown A, Jones SW, Rowan H. Baby-Led Weaning: The Evidence to Date. Curr Nutr Rep 2017;6(2):148-56. .

BLW can be used with any infant who is developmentally ready to eat solid foods.

The “wean” in BLW is somewhat misleading since infants still rely on human milk or formula for nutrition even after beginning complementary foods. By age 1, an infant’s reliance on milk nutrition is exchanged for nutrition from whole foods. Regardless of the type of milk your baby drinks, this transition can take place using the BLW feeding method.

A cornerstone to BLW success is waiting to start solids until your baby is developmentally ready to self-feed. Infants need to be able to sit well so their arms are free to reach for food. Head control and coordinated grasping are also needed. Research suggests 85% of infants gain these skills by 6-7 months and 96% have them by 7-8 months^[2]Cameron SL, Heath AM, Taylor RW. How Feasible is Baby-Led Weaning as an Approach to Infant Feeding? A Review of the Evidence. Nutrients 2012;4(11):1575-609. .

In addition, babies need to have coordinated oral motor function to eat pieces of food. Most 6-month-olds have the mouth and tongue muscles needed to break up small foods in their mouth and safely swallow. Babies must also show interest in eating when starting BLW. If babies are not interested in eating, they risk inadequate calorie intake.

Beginning BLW at 6 months aligns with the current WHO-recommended age to begin complementary foods. There’s no advantage to starting complementary foods earlier.

When developmentally ready, parents can prepare foods for their baby in sizes and shapes babies can pick up and feed themselves. Most commonly, foods offered are larger, stick-shaped pieces. Once safely provided, your baby can decide which foods to eat and the amount they want.

Nearly any food can be modified for BLW. Most families start with fruits, vegetables and meats. Iron-rich foods are encouraged, especially for infants consuming human milk. In addition, safely offering common food allergens as a first food (nut protein, egg, wheat) can help protect against the development of food allergy.

Examples of BLW first foods include:

• Softly steamed broccoli florets
• Large pieces of pasta
• Strips of slow-cooked meat
• Soft strips of banana or avocado
• Boiled potato cut into sticks
• Scrambled egg
• Strips of toasted bread
• Teething crackers

Choking is a concern for all infants, regardless of infant feeding style. Choking is a larger risk with hard or coin-shaped foods, or when a child is distracted while eating. Indeed, one of the main reasons healthcare providers are reluctant to fully endorse BLW is the perceived risk of choking.

About 35% of babies choke while starting foods, most often because they were offered food that was a hazard^[1]Brown A, Jones SW, Rowan H. Baby-Led Weaning: The Evidence to Date. Curr Nutr Rep 2017;6(2):148-56. . In the first year of life, there were no more choking events in babies who used BLW versus pureed feeding methods. Avoiding foods most commonly associated with choking events is important for all infants.

Foods considered to be a choking risk for infants are:

• Raw apple
• Corn kernels
• Raw, hard vegetables
• Whole berries as large or larger than raspberries
• Whole cherry tomatoes
• Cubes of hard meats
• Whole grapes
• Marshmallows
• Popcorn
• Raw pineapple
• Seeds and nuts
• Sausages or similar
• Hard crackers and chips

Avoid foods that are a choking risk, in addition to raw honey, until age 1, due to the risk of botulism, a rare disease that can be fatal.

Successful BLW requires developmental readiness and family participation. For infants who are developmentally delayed or show little interest in self-feeding, BLW may put infants at risk of nutritional deficits, if used exclusively.

In addition, BLW requires parental attributes that not all parents share. Parents who choose BLW demonstrate a feeding style of lower control, show little anxiety about milk weaning and less worry about choking or gagging. In my experience, parents with lots of anxiety about their baby’s size and weight do not enjoy the BLW process.

There are practical considerations, too. BLW requires a higher level of patience and time than spoon-feeding. For example, observational studies have shown toddlers take 50% longer to eat a finger-food meal compared to a spoon-fed meal of equal calories^[3]Wright CM, Cameron K, Tsiaka M, Parkinson KN. Is Baby-Led Weaning Feasible? When do Babies First Reach out for and eat Finger Foods? . Matern Child Nutr 2011;7(1):27-33. . In addition, parent surveys report increased mess during feeding and increased food waste during the BLW process^[4]Brown A, Lee M. An Exploration of Experiences of Mothers Following a Baby-Led Weaning Style: Developmental Readiness for Complementary Foods. Matern Child Nutr 2013;9(2):233-43. .

Introducing solid foods to infants happens in a variety of ways, all with pros and cons. The most important things to consider when feeding your baby are encouraging variety, offering food in a developmentally appropriate way and enjoying the experience. Regardless of the method you choose, these building blocks will set your baby up for a healthy food relationship during infancy and beyond.

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Because the formula aisle is enough to make any sleep-deprived parent’s brain hurt, we analyzed the price and nutritional components of more than 80 baby formulas to determine the best products. Product details and pricing are accurate as of the publication date. See how popular baby formulas stack up in our list of the Best Baby Formula 2021.