Maternal Perceptions of Infant Hunger, Satiety, and Pressuring Feeding Styles in an Urban Latina WIC Population
Received 28 January 2009; accepted 1 August 2009. published online 11 December 2009.
Objective
Controlling feeding styles in which parents regulate feeding without responding to child cues have been associated with poor self-regulation of feeding and increased weight, but have not been well studied in infancy. We sought to assess maternal perception of infant feeding cues and pressuring feeding styles in an urban Latina Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) population.
Methods
Secondary analysis of a larger study of Latina mothers participating in New York City WIC programs. We examined maternal perception of infant feeding cues and pressuring feeding style. Using logistic regression, we assessed: 1) characteristics associated with perceptions of cues and pressuring to feed, including sociodemographics, breastfeeding, and maternal body mass index; and 2) whether perceptions of cues were associated with pressuring feeding style.
Results
We surveyed 368 mothers (84% response rate). Most mothers perceived that babies sense their own satiety. However, 72% believed that infant crying must indicate hunger. Fifty-three percent believed that mothers should always make babies finish the bottle (“pressure to feed”). Pressuring feeding style was associated with foreign maternal country of birth (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 3.05; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.66–5.60) and less than a high school education (AOR 1.81; 95% CI, 1.12–2.91). Two perceptions of feeding cues were related to pressuring feeding style: belief that infant crying must indicate hunger (AOR 2.59; 95% CI, 1.52–4.42) and infant hand sucking implies hunger (AOR 1.83; 95% CI, 1.10–3.03).
Conclusions
Maternal characteristics influence perception of infant hunger and satiety. Interpretation of feeding cues is associated with pressuring feeding style. Improving responsiveness to infant cues should be a component of early childhood obesity prevention.
Department of General Pediatrics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Children's Hospital at Montefiore, Bronx, NY (Dr Gross); General Pediatrics (Dr Fierman and Dr Messito) and Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics (Dr Mendelsohn), New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY; and Research and Evaluation Unit, Public Health Solutions, New York, NY (Drs Chiasson, Rosenberg, and Ms Scheinmann)
Address correspondence to Rachel S. Gross, MD, MS, Department of Pediatrics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Children's Hospital at Montefiore, 3444 Kossuth Avenue, Bronx, New York 10467-2490.
The contents of this manuscript are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
ABSTRACT