<http://purl.org/dc/terms/description>
"Solid food feeding is complex and involves interaction at many levels. Solid food feeding\r\npractices are determined, in part, by the mother's perceptions of infant food needs, the infant's\r\nfeeding responses, and the mother's knowledge and skills. It is known that by 9 months of age\r\ninfants who are not bottle-fed with iron-fortified formula are at high risk for iron deficiency anemia\r\nand low iron stores. Dietary iron from complementary solid foods is essential to prevent iron\r\ndeficiency anemia and iron depletion in these infants by 9-12 months of age. However, the\r\ncontent and bioavailability of iron from solid foods offered during the transition period is low.\r\nBecause of this, it is critical that infant feeding practices are appropriate to meet the infant's\r\nevolving nutritional requirements, especially iron needs, during the transition period (4 to 9\r\nmonths). The success of infant feeding requires that mothers learn both what and how to feed\r\nsolid foods.\r\nThe present research used a grounded theory approach and in-depth interviews with 12\r\nmothers to explore how mothers feed their infants and what influences the way they feed solid\r\nfoods during the transition period (4-9 months). This research identified 5 themes that are\r\ncentral to infant solid food feeding - the feeding process, perceiving infant food needs, ways of\r\nfeeding, gaining expertise and tailoring the transition process. The central theme that had the\r\nmost influence on the solid food feeding process was how mothers were 'tailoring' the transition\r\nprocess. A 3-dimensional conceptual model of infant solid food feeding was developed to\r\nillustrate the interaction between the themes. A causal-consequence model was used to build a\r\nsecond conceptual model to link dietary iron adequacy to the plausible relationships that were\r\nidentified from the 5 themes.\r\nFindings from this study provide information needed for future development of effective multilevel\r\neducation strategies that are aimed at facilitating health professionals' practices and\r\nmothers' learning about the feeding process and conditions within the proximate environment that\r\ndetermine infant feeding choices and impact on the dietary intake of young infants."@en
<https://open.library.ubc.ca/cIRcle/collections/ubctheses/831/items/1.0089854>