Pre-chewing food is one way for mothers who have no access to
commercial baby food – or who simply can't afford it – to
prepare puréed food for their babies. The practice of pre-
chewing food usually is associated with poor countries.
Occasionally, though, mothers and care-givers in the developed
world engage in the practice – perhaps as a way to induce a baby
to eat. The practice of feeding pre-chewed food was already
known to increase the risk of early development of tooth decay
in children. Now, researchers at St. Jude's and the CDC have
discovered that pre-chewed food also can transmit the AIDS virus
(HIV) from mother to child. The research report, which will
appear in the August 2009 issue of Pediatrics, documents three
such cases of AIDS transmission in the United States. HIV is not
transmitted in saliva; blood must be present. This can happen if
the person doing the chewing suffers from bleeding gums. The
baby, too, must have an open sore in its mouth – perhaps as a
result of teething. While the practic