The influence of maternal psychosocial characteristics on infant feeding styles

Abstract

Maternal feeding styles in infancy and early childhood are associated with children’s later risk for overweight and obesity. Maternal psychosocial factors that influence feeding styles during the complementary feeding period, the time during which infants transition from a milk-based diet to one that includes solid foods and other non-milk products, have received less attention. The present study explores how maternal psychosocial factors—specifically self-esteem, parenting self-efficacy, parenting satisfaction, and depression symptoms—influence mothers’ infant feeding styles at nine months of age, a time during which solid foods eating habits are being established. Participants included 160 low-income, African-American mother-infant pairs in central North Carolina who were enrolled in the Infant Care and Risk of Obesity Study. Regression models tested for associations between maternal psychosocial characteristics and pressuring and restrictive feeding styles. Models were first adjusted for maternal age, education, marital status and obesity status. To account for infant characteristics, models were then adjusted for infant weight-for-length, distress to limitations and activity level scores. Maternal self-esteem was negatively associated with pressuring to soothe. Maternal parenting self-efficacy was positively associated with restriction-diet quality. Maternal parenting satisfaction and depression symptoms were not associated with feeding styles in the final models. Focusing on strengthening maternal self-esteem and parenting self-efficacy may help to prevent the development of less desirable infant feeding styles.

INSIGHT responsive parenting intervention is associated with healthier patterns of dietary exposures in infants

“…This finding is consistent with previous literature reporting positive associations between higher infant dietary quality and maternal age , education , income , and marital status and negative associations with maternal BMI . These sociodemographic risk factors have also been linked to nonresponsive feeding practices . Early intervention to promote RP among families with higher sociodemographic risk may improve dietary intake among at‐risk infants and help to moderate risk for obesity.…”

Feeding style of adolescent mothers and complementary feeding practice of their infants

“…A study with160 mothers of children between 3-18 months that evaluated psychosocial determinants in the maternal styles of feeding, demonstrated that self-esteem and obesity were significantly associated with pressure and restriction on feeding their children [8].…”

“…These, can be defined as responsive or sensitive when considered positive, and non-responsive when infused with authoritarianism, passivity or restrictions [5,6]. A non-responsive style was associated with a lower stimulation of healthy food choices by children, as well as, a worse infant's regulation of hunger and satiety [7,8]. Thus, the dietary parental style of complementary feeding may be associate with malnutrition and overweight in childhood, and obesity and metabolic syndrome for a lifetime [9].…”

Indonesia Infant and Young Child Feeding Practice: The Role of Women’s Empowerment in Household Domain

“…It is assumed that control over personal earning was a form of self-efficacy. Mothers with self-efficacy were positively associated with adequate feeding practice (Barrett, Thompson, & Bentley, 2016), as implied by Belsky's parenting model. Legal asset ownerships did not have an independent effect on adequate feeding practice.…”