Weaning
Weaning is considered a window of opportunity to introduce baby to a variety of foods, textures and flavours, and to teach them that food can be fun as well as nutritious. In our Weaning Hub you will find a wealth of valuable information and resources; an insightful and comprehensive guide for parents on all topics weaning-related; and also, weaning a preterm baby.
In our Getting a Taste for Weaning - A Guide for Parents you will learn that there are two main approaches when it comes to weaning: the more traditional manner of starting with pureed spoon-feeds and progressing onto finger food, or baby-led weaning. Some parents even use a combination of both. This guide will take parents through the journey with information on the stages of weaning, frequently asked questions, and recipes.
For the general population, the introduction of solids is not recommended before 6 months.1 For special groups such as preterm infants, these government guidelines don’t apply. For infants born prematurely, please explore this hub for information on weaning a preterm baby.
There are no national guidelines for weaning preterm babies, but a review of available literature provides the following recommendations:2-4
- Weaning premature babies should be considered between 5 and 8 months uncorrected age3,5.
- They should be at least 5 months corrected age to allow for sufficient motor development.3
- Deciding on the actual time of weaning a preterm baby should be based on observing cues for weaning readiness in each individual infant.2-5
- Once weaning has started it should progress according to standard weaning guidelines, paying attention to providing appropriate nutrient dense weaning foods.3,4
- What to feed around 6 months - Start for Life - NHS.
- King C. An evidence-based guide to weaning preterm infants. Paediatric Child Health. 2009; 19: 405−14.
- BLISS. Weaning your premature baby. Available here. Weaning your premature baby | Bliss (accessed Sept 2025).
- King C & Tavener K. 2015. Preterm Infants. In Shaw (4th Ed.) Clinical Paediatric Dietetics (pp 83-103), Wiley Blackwell, Chichester.
- Baldassarre MA et al. Complementary feeding in preterm infants: a position paper by Italian neonatal, paediatric and paediatric gastroenterology joint societies. Ital J Pediatr. 2022; 48:143.