J Hum Nutr Diet. 2022 Nov 3. doi: 10.1111/jhn.13110. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
This article reports the development and validation of a measure of parents’ use of baby-led weaning (BLW). Baby-led weaning is a child-centered approach to complementary feeding where the infant is allowed to eat whole foods (rather than purees) and explore a variety of foods and textures.2,3,5,6 To date, parents’ use of baby-led weaning has been assessed using either single items or a wide variety of measures. In this study, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses on independent samples supported three BLW subscales: independence, exploration, and family. The final thirteen-item scale showed adequate fit statistics and good reliability (χ2(62) = 115.02, p < .001; CFI = 0.98; TLI = .98; RMSEA = 0.05; SRMR = 0.06; exploration a=.738; family a=.715; independence a=.809). In addition, the scale demonstrated good external validity and related in theoretically expected ways to an infant feeding style measure and parent report of complementary feeding approach. This study was limited as it was mostly white parents, and the scale should be validated on a more diverse sample. Future research can use this scale to examine if BLW relates to infant taste preferences, parenting styles, and child eating behaviors to improve child nutrition and health outcomes. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
PMID:36325736 | DOI:10.1111/jhn.13110
