Mother⁻Infant Physical Contact Predicts Responsive Feeding among U.S. Breastfeeding Mothers

• Published in: Nutrients 2018-09, Vol.10 (9), p.1251
• Main Authors: Little, Emily E, Legare, Cristine H, Carver, Leslie J
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Age Factors; Babies; babywearing; Breast feeding; Breast Feeding - psychology; breastfeeding; Breastfeeding & lactation; breastmilk; Child care; Child Development; Child, Preschool; co-sleeping; Cues; Ethnography; Feeding; Feeding Behavior; feeding cues; Female; Human nutrition; Humans; Hunger; Infant; Infant Behavior; Infant nutrition; Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Infant, Newborn; Infants; Lactation; Maternal Behavior; maternal responsiveness; Mother-Child Relations; Mother-offspring interactions; Mothers; mother–infant interaction; mother–infant physical contact; Nutrition; Parents & parenting; Physiology; Population studies; proximal care; Psychology; Questionnaires; responsive feeding; Schedules; Skin; Social behavior; Social factors; Socialization; Time Factors; Touch; Ultrasonic testing; United States; Young Adult
• ISSN: 2072-6643; 2072-6643
• DOI: 10.3390/nu10091251

Responsive feeding-initiating feeding in response to early hunger cues-supports the physiology of lactation and the development of infant feeding abilities, yet there is a dearth of research examining what predicts responsive feeding. In non-Western proximal care cultures, there is an association between responsive feeding and mother⁻infant physical contact, but this has not been investigated within Western populations. In two studies, we tested whether mother⁻infant physical contact predicted feeding in response to early hunger cues versus feeding on a schedule or after signs of distress among U.S. breastfeeding mothers. With an online questionnaire in Study 1 ( = 626), physical contact with infants (via co-sleeping and babywearing) predicted increased likelihood of self-reported responsive feeding. Mothers who reported responsive feeding were more likely to exclusively breastfeed for the first six months, breastfeed more frequently throughout the day, and had a longer planned breastfeeding duration than mothers who reported feeding on a schedule or after signs of infant distress. In Study 2 ( = 96), a three-day feeding log showed that mother⁻infant physical contact predicted feeding in response to early hunger cues but mother⁻infant proximity (without physical contact) did not. In sum, our results demonstrate that physical contact with infants may shape breastfeeding behavior among U.S. mothers, highlighting a connection between social interaction and infant nutrition that warrants further investigation.