By Iyanuoluwa Abiola
Feeding infants with solid or complementary foods other than breast milk before six months may increase their risk of iron deficiency and anaemia, while exposing them to choking and infections, paediatricians have warned.
The experts explained that giving babies foods such as eba, fufu and pap too early may displace breast milk without providing enough of the nutrients needed for proper growth and development.
They added that poor feeding practices at that stage could also expose infants to contaminated food and water, and it reduces their intake of breast milk, which provides important nutrients and antibodies that help protect against infections.
The World Health Organisation recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life, meaning that babies should receive only breast milk and no other food or drink, including water, except where medically indicated. The global health body recommends introducing safe and nutritionally adequate complementary foods at six months while breastfeeding continues.
According to WHO, around six months, babies’ nutritional needs begin to exceed what breast milk alone can provide, making complementary foods necessary. It also notes that infants are developmentally ready for other foods at about this age.
Speaking exclusively with PUNCH Healthwise, the Head of Paediatrics at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Katsina, Dr Abdurrazzaq Alege, warned that introducing complementary foods too early could pose immediate health risks, including choking in babies.
“At that stage, the child cannot properly coordinate swallowing, so solid food can easily obstruct the airway,” Alege said.
The consultant paediatrician noted that early feeding could also reduce the amount of breast milk consumed by the baby, affecting the child’s overall nutrition.
“The child may begin to refuse breast milk, which is the exact nutrition needed at that stage. Instead, they take foods that are mainly carbohydrates and lack the required proteins, vitamins and micronutrients,” he explained.
He added that infants were particularly vulnerable to infections because their immune systems were still developing.
“Introducing other foods at that stage exposes them to infections, whereas breast milk provides antibodies that help protect the baby,” Alege said.
Linking early complementary feeding to nutritional deficiencies, he warned that replacing breast milk with foods that are low in essential nutrients could contribute to iron deficiency and anaemia.
“When the child does not get enough iron from breast milk, it can lead to anaemia and what we call failure to thrive,” the paediatric specialist added.
Alege explained that the immediate concerns included choking and infections, while inadequate nutrition could affect growth and development over time.
Advising mothers, he stressed that infants should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months.
“Take nothing except breast milk, not even water, unless medically advised,” he said.
He also urged caregivers to seek medical attention if babies develop warning signs such as persistent vomiting, abdominal swelling, persistent coughing during feeding or blood in the stool.
“These are signs that the child may not be ready and could be experiencing complications,” he added.
Also speaking exclusively with PUNCH Healthwise, a consultant paediatrician and child health advocate, Dr Ayodele Renner, said introducing complementary foods before six months fails to meet infants’ nutritional needs and may contribute to iron deficiency.
“They will not get adequate nutrients like iron, zinc and essential vitamins, and this can affect their growth and brain development,” Renner said.
He noted that reducing breast milk intake at that stage could also deprive babies of some of the protective benefits of breastfeeding.
“Once breast milk is replaced with these foods, the baby loses important antibodies and becomes more vulnerable to infections,” the consultant paediatrician explained.
Rather than dismissing common beliefs around local foods, Renner emphasised that many of them were not nutritionally adequate to replace breast milk in young infants.
“There is nothing special about eba. It is mainly carbohydrates, just like yam or rice, and does not provide the nutrients a baby needs at that stage,” he said.
On timing, he maintained that six months remained the recommended point to begin complementary feeding.
“Even if a child shows early signs like sitting with support or good neck control, six months is still the safest time to start,” the child health advocate advised.
He also warned about choking when foods are introduced before babies are developmentally ready.
“If the food is not properly prepared in terms of size and texture, it can block the airway,” Renner added.
Advising mothers who felt their babies were still hungry before six months, he urged them to seek appropriate feeding support rather than introduce solid foods prematurely.
“If exclusive breastfeeding is not sufficient, mothers can supplement with infant formula until the child turns six months,” he said.
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