Pregnancy and beyond - the role of BMI in predicting body satisfaction, eating behaviour and infant feeding across two countries.

Abstract

Weight change during pregnancy and maternal body mass index (BMI) are associated with negative body image and restrained eating. However, there are cross-cultural differences in how these changes are experienced and how this might in turn affect maternal eating or infant feeding. The present study aimed to: (1) examine if self-esteem, eating behaviours and body satisfaction measured during pregnancy changed following birth and varied according to country (Israel vs. UK); and (2) explore any relationship between these measurements and infant feeding/eating behavior. Participants were asked to complete the following questionnaires: Rosenberg Self-Esteem Questionnaire, Body Image Scale, Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire, Baby Eating Behaviour Questionnaire and the Infant Feeding Questionnaire. Multilevel linear modelling was used to account for differences over time and to assess the independent impact of BMI on questionnaire scores. 73 women and infants participated in the study 16(9) weeks following birth. Levels of self-esteem and eating behaviours did not significantly change. UK women showed significantly higher desire to be slim following birth compared to Israeli women. Mothers' perceptions of infant's eating did not vary according to BMI nor country, however heavier mothers reported a significantly higher tendency to feed their infant according to a schedule. BMI was the strongest and most stable predictor of maternal well being and eating behaviour. The lack of change post-pregnancy suggests that self esteem, body image and affect are relatively stable but that it is important to follow the mothers beyond the early stages of the postnatal period.