RICE CEREAL: THE UNNECESSARY DANGER OF INTRODUCING SOLID FOOD TOO EARLY.

by **Nanneerose** Thu Mar 20, 2014 6:54 am

How could something as harmless as rice cereal be dangerous?
Feeding a baby that is under 6 months old ANY SOLID food is dangerous, and rice cereal is often the first solid food parents will offer their baby. First and foremost a 6 month old baby has a digestive system that is not fully developed; therefore anything other than breast milk or formula will NOT be digested properly. So, while that little bite of mashed potatoes or rice cereal seems harmless enough it could POTENTIALLY be damaging to the baby's digestive system. All that a baby NEEDS to properly nourish them from 6 to 12 months of age is breast milk or formula. Not only is rice cereal potentially harmful it is VOID of nutrition, so adding it reduces the nutritional density of their diet. It is safe, however, to start introducing solids to babies beginning at 6 months, but it is generally unnecessary. Breast milk will change as the baby grows, offering them everything they NEED for complete nourishment. If the formula is not giving them the needed nutrition, as it never changes, then only the parents and a nutritionist can decide together what it is the baby needs to add to their diet in order to properly nourish them. [1]

Putting Rice cereal in the bottle IS DANGEROUS so please DON'T DO IT! This topic should not be up for debate. Mixing rice cereal in the milk & into a bottle is a choking hazard. If mothers insist the infant has rice cereal please hand feed it to them with a spoon. Some believe mixing cereal in with baby's milk will allow the baby to sleep longer as the baby will remain fully satiated. Babies need to eat every 2-3 hours because their little bodies need all that NUTRITION to grow. Feeding a newborn isn't just about trying to keep them full it's about getting them all of the nutrition they so desperately require to grow. Rice cereal has none of that nutrition. Rice cereal is simply empty calories. Therefore, feeding them rice cereal may have accomplished the task of getting them to remain satiated, but they are not getting the nutrition they need, and many doctors believe there are links to foods low in nutritional density (like rice cereal) to obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. [2]
Some parents feel as if their child NEEDS rice cereal because their baby spits up milk frequently.

RICE CEREAL: THE UNNECESSARY DANGER OF INTRODUCING SOLID FOOD TOO EARLY. Ricecerealfinished

Some mothers assume their baby has acid reflux and that rice cereal is the cure. New research shows that reflux is overly diagnosed and over treated, leading to a physical dependence to the PPI drugs (proton-pump inhibitor) and possible medical complications later. Some think because their baby spits up after every feeding that it means their baby has reflux and the baby needs rice cereal. There could be a simpler solution, such as: try a different position when they are burped, mothers can change their diet if breast feeding, or change formula brands. There could be many different factors at play, so before introducing rice cereal or ANY solids, especially before 6 months, attempt a process of elimination first.
Feeding infants cereal or other grains before 6 months, does more than simply leave them with indigestible food. They are being fed an indigestible food in place of anutrient-dense meal, something their body can’t use and depriving them of the nutrients they need to grow a healthy brain, nervous system, and bone structure.
Mothers adamant on feeding their baby right at the 6 month mark should look into baby-led weaning. Baby-led weaning is a method of adding complementary foods to a baby's diet of formula or breast milk. Baby-led weaning allows babies to control their solid food consumption by "self-feeding" from the very beginning of their experience with food.

http://www.breastfeedingmamatalk.com/dangers-of-rice-cereal/#.UyoDOPmSy_S

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