Health Professionals’ Knowledge, Perceptions, and Attitudes Toward Baby-Led Weaning: Scoping Review

Abstract

Introduction Baby-led weaning (BLW) is a growing method for parents to introduce food to their kids. As advisers who affect the decisions of parents, health practitioners have significant obligations in this regard. Objective We aim to identify existing literature on the knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes of health professionals toward BLW. Methods We carried out a scoping review in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews. After registering with Open Science Framework, published articles were retrieved from EBSCOhost, PubMed, SciELO, ScienceDirect, Open Grey, and the Portuguese Scientific Open Access Repository. Primary studies with full-text availability in English, Spanish, or Portuguese, and no data publication limitations were included. Results The final sample included seven publications conducted in five countries published between 2012 and 2022. Only one study employed a hybrid methodology showing incongruent practices in parents/health professionals on BLW, whereas most studies employed a quantitative approach. Regarding BLW, it is recognized that there is a dearth of evidence, consensus, and advice. Conclusion Despite benefits, health professionals hesitate to recommend BLW due to insufficient study and safety concerns, warranting more research. Hence, our scoping review demonstrated that BLW is a scientifically under-researched subject, indicating a significant research gap that must be filled in the future.