Practice and Knowledge of Primary Caregivers Regarding Infant Feeding

Abstract

Mothers and other care givers may not have complete knowledge or understanding of infant nutrition requirements. A survey was completed with caregivers of infants 3-36 months of age to determine current knowledge about feeding infants and actual practices. The validated survey was randomly mailed to 500 caregivers across the state of Nebraska. Respondents n=270 (54%) tended to be well educated, white (non-Hispanic), middle income, with only 17% participating in supplemental food programs. Caregivers lacked knowledge regarding appropriate serving sizes, common nutrient deficiencies, infant growth patterns, and the appropriateness of adding additional foods to the infant's bottle. Reported caregiver practices indicated approximately one-fourth allowed the infant to fall asleep with a bottle, added cereal with formula in a bottle, offered more food to the child than he/she would be expected to consume, and gave more than 4 ounces of juice daily to a young infant. Correlation analysis indicated relationships between knowledge and practices for portion sizes (r=−.18; p<0.05), and mixing cereal with infant formula in a bottle (r=.32; p<0.05). Main sources of nutrition information included newspapers, magazines, or books, and physicians. When asked about the type of information desired, the caregivers indicated a need for guidelines on feeding development and readiness to eat, overall nutritional needs, and tips for making mealtime a pleasant experience. Knowledge of current feeding practices by caregivers should better enable dietitians to have a positive impact on the establishment of sound eating patterns in young children.