Association between infant feeding behavior and maternal choice of breastfeeding type

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Feeding in infants is a fundamental process influenced by the mother-child relationship during the early months of life. The regulation of feeding behavior, and hunger and satiety cues may be interpreted by the mother, potentially relating to the type of feeding chosen. Objectives To determine the association between infant feeding behavior and the type of breastfeeding chosen by the mother. Methods A cross-sectional and prospective study was conducted, including mothers with children aged between 6 and 18 months. Those with medical contraindications for immediate postpartum breastfeeding or with suspension of exclusive breastfeeding during the first 6 months of life due to medical prescription were excluded. The Baby Eating Behavior Questionnaire was used to evaluate the baby’s enjoyment of food, appetite response, eating speed, and satiety response. Results 108 mothers were included, with 87% in agreement with exclusive breastfeeding (EBF), 43.3% using breastfeeding as the primary feeding method, and only 33.3% practicing EBF during the first 6 months. Food response (FR) scored 19.6 (±4.3), enjoyment of food (EF) 17.6 (±2.1), satiety response (SR) 7.1 (±2.0), eating speed (ES) 8.8 (±2.3), and appetite (AP) 4.2 (±0.7). Comparing FR, EF, SR, ES, and AP scores between those who practiced EBF and those who did not showed p > 0.05. sociodemographic characteristics, perinatal factors, stance on EBF, number of hours per day with the child, feeding location, poor technique, breastfeeding pain and lack of medical guidance, all showed p > 0.05 when comparing between those who practiced EBF and those who did not; in contrast to perceiving that the baby wanted to breastfeed (2.5/1.0-6.2), having time to feed (3/1.2-7.2) and having no health problems (10/1.2-78.7) all with p-value <0.05. Conclusions The mother’s perception identifying the baby’s desire to breastfeed, having time to feed the baby and not having health problems favor exclusive breastfeeding. Key messages • Maternal perception plays an important role in deciding to give SCI, so it is the physician’s job to educate the mother so that she has additional arguments for choosing SCI. • The infant’s feeding behavior does not have a significant impact on the mother’s behavior in choosing SCI feeding.