No increased choking risk found in babies allowed to self-feed solid foods
Allowing babies to feed themselves solid foods rather than spoon-feeding them does not increase the risk of choking, research has found.
A study by Swansea University found no difference in how often babies choked when they fed themselves from as young as six months old.
More than 1,000 mothers with a baby aged between four and 12 months took part in the research.
They reported how they gave their baby solid foods, what foods they gave them and whether their baby had ever choked.
Overall, there was no difference in how often a baby choked among babies that fed themselves, fed themselves and were spoon-fed, or were mainly spoon-fed.
Dr Amy Brown, associate professor in Child Health at Swansea University, said: "Following a baby-led weaning approach where you allow your baby to simply self-feed family foods, rather than preparing special pureed or mashed foods to spoon-feed, has been growing in popularity over the last 10 years in the UK and other countries.
"However, some people have expressed concerns over whether this is safe, and might put babies at risk of choking.
"This study adds to previous research conducted in smaller sample groups that also showed this approach does not...