Table 1.
Reasons for introducing solid foods grouped by theme
| Theme | Reason | n | % | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Wanted to eat | Interest in food | 66 | 8.7 | She was showing interest in our food. |
| Grabbed food/self‐fed | 30 | 4.0 | He was trying to grab my food. | |
| Cried when saw food | 21 | 2.7 | He was crying every time we ate. | |
| 2. Hunger | Hunger | 64 | 8.5 | Hungry, draining bottles |
| Not enough milk | 19 | 2.5 | I didn't have enough milk to satisfy him. | |
| 3. Behaviour | Encourage sleep | 65 | 8.6 | Baby started waking through the night when previously had been sleeping through. Thought it was the right time. |
| Make more settled | 12 | 1.6 | General grumpiness and wouldn't nap | |
| 4. Weight | Lost weight/low weight | 39 | 5.2 | Her weight was slowing down and she had dropped some centiles. |
| Big baby/too big | 23 | 3.1 | She fed too much so I wanted to slow her down a bit. | |
| Certain weight reached | 11 | 1.5 | He had doubled his birthweight. | |
| 5. Medical reasons | Health professional | 43 | 5.2 | Was told by health visitor (HV) that baby needed solids |
| Medical reasons | 22 | 3.1 | I was advised due to babies' reflux | |
| 6. Developmental readiness | Signs of readiness | 57 | 7.5 | He could sit independently, had the palmer grasp and seemed interested. |
| 7. Convenience | Return to work | 16 | 2.1 | Wanted baby to be established on solids before starting nursery |
| Less hassle | 18 | 2.4 | Solids are less hassle than making up bottles. | |
| Routine | 21 | 2.7 | He was feeding all the time, I wanted to bring some structure to the day. | |
| 8. Guidelines | Recommended guidelines | 55 | 7.3 | Government advice, he showed no interest before |
| 9. Pressure from others | Pressure from others | 50 | 6.6 | My mother was getting more and more insistent. |
| 10. Needed more | Needed new tastes | 16 | 2.1 | To get him used to the tastes and textures of food |
| Needed more nutrients | 33 | 4.4 | I felt like she needed more than milk. | |
| 11. Physical development | Teeth | 11 | 1.5 | She had two teeth so could chew |
| Physically advanced | 12 | 1.6 | He reached all his other milestones before other babies so I decided he would need solids sooner too. | |
| Putting things in mouth | 17 | 2.5 | He was able to pick up toys and put them to his mouth. | |
| 12. Fun | Fun | 16 | 2.1 | My friend had weaned and it looked fun. Her daughter was really enjoying. |
| Bored of milk | 10 | 1.3 | I got bored with exclusively breastfeeding, fancied starting purees. | |
| Excitement | 9 | 1.1 | I was excited about weaning and giving her new things. | |
| Total participants | 756 | 100 |