BL Whaaat? Baby Led Weaning: The Literature and How Families do it

Background: For the last 10 years Baby Led Weaning (BLW) has gained popularity as an approach to complementary feeding. It’s a hot topic on social media, blogs, parenthood books and forums. Parents keep asking about it in routine appointments.

BLW is a feeding approach that advocates bypassing conventional weaning practices, based in spoon-feeding of puréed food, to presenting whole foods to infants over 6 months.

Objective: There are few studies or long-term outcomes, but the number is increasing corroborating the method’s popularity and value.

The main purpose of this presentation is to clarify the method, either in its strict form or mixed with the conventional approach, showing its pros and cons, with the ultimate goal of making it easier for the pediatricians to answer parents` questions.

Methods: Summary of BLW’s theoretical basis, literature review and examples of its applicability in Portuguese families, based on clinical practice.

Conclusion: The authors pretend to present a plain and practical perspective, based on what is published in literature and share the heterogeneous experience within Portuguese families.