Xantha Leatham - Deputy Science Editor

Xantha is an award-winning journalist who joined the Daily Mail through its trainee scheme in 2016. Since then she has covered a range of roles, but now thoroughly enjoys being deputy science editor. Favourite topics include space, dinosaurs and quirky studies. She occasionally covers health stories and won the ¿30 To Watch¿ journalism award for a menopause campaign that resulted in government action.

Coverage: Science Health Space Dementia AI Cosmetic Surgery

MOST RECENT ARTICLES FROM XANTHA LEATHAM

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Spoon feeding infants may be bad for their growth, study finds - as letting babies hand feed themselves could be better for their development

30/06/24 10:56

Most parents will remember the hours spent spooning pureed food into their child's mouth. But allowing infants to hand-feed themselves may be better for their growth, according to a study. New findings suggest that baby-led weaning - a popular way of introducing solid foods to infants - provides ample calories for growth and development. The method emphasises allowing infants to hand-feed themselves whole, non-pureed foods when introducing solids versus the more traditional approach of spoon-feeding infants pureed solids. Advocates say that it encourages healthy eating habits because babies self-feed and can explore a variety of foods from the family's meals....read