Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Aug;136(2):e315-22.
doi: 10.1542/peds.2015-0551.

Maternal Report of Advice Received for Infant Care

Staci R Eisenberg  1 , Megan H Bair-Merritt  2 , Eve R Colson  3 , Timothy C Heeren  4 , Nicole L Geller  5 , Michael J Corwin  6
Affiliations

Maternal Report of Advice Received for Infant Care

Staci R Eisenberg et al. Pediatrics. 2015 Aug.

Abstract

Background: Advice has been associated with increased adherence to recommended infant care practices, and may represent a modifiable factor to promote infant health.

Methods: A stratified, 2-stage, clustered design, with oversampling of black and Hispanic mothers, was used to survey a nationally representative sample of 1031 mothers of infants aged 2 to 6 months. Survey questions assessed advice received from doctors, birth hospital nurses, family, and media regarding immunization, breastfeeding, sleep position, sleep location, and pacifier use. Weighted frequencies of no advice and advice consistent with recommendations were calculated to obtain prevalence estimates. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to assess factors associated with receipt of recommendation consistent advice.

Results: Although doctors were the most prevalent source of reported advice, ∼20% of mothers reported no doctor advice for breastfeeding or sleep position, and more than 50% reported no advice regarding sleep location or pacifier use. Reported advice from nurses was generally similar to doctors. The prevalence of any advice from family or media was 20% to 56% for nearly all care practices, and advice given was often inconsistent with recommendations. The only factors that were consistently associated with receipt of recommendation consistent advice were race/ethnicity and parity; black and Hispanic mothers and first-time mothers were more likely to report recommendation consistent advice.

Conclusions: Mothers commonly report receiving either no advice or recommendation inconsistent advice from each of the 4 sources we studied. By identifying care practices with low prevalence of recommendation consistent advice from potentially important advisors, our findings highlight opportunities for future intervention.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Enrollment and follow-up.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Prevalence estimates of advice received by source of advice and infant care practice.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
A, Adjusted odds ratio (95% CI) of receiving recommendation consistent advice for black and Hispanic versus white mothers (reference) by infant care practice and source. The small squares represent adjusted odds ratio point estimates and bars represent 95% CIs. An adjusted odds ratio of >1 (to the right of the 1.0 line) indicates increased likelihood of reporting receipt of recommendation consistent advice compared with the reference group of white mothers. Variables adjusted for in the model include maternal age, education level, parity, and income, US region of residence and infant gender, birth weight, and infant age at the time of interview. B, Adjusted odds ratio (95% CI) of receiving recommendation consistent advice for multiparous versus primiparous mothers (reference) by infant care practice and source. The small squares represent adjusted odds ratio point estimates and bars represent 95% CIs. An odds ratio of >1 (to the right of the 1.0 line) indicates increased likelihood of reporting receipt of recommendation consistent advice compared with the reference group of primiparous mothers. Variables adjusted for in the model include maternal age, race/ethnicity, education level, and income, US region of residence and infant gender, birth weight, and infant age at the time of interview.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

References

    1. Akinsanya-Beysolow I, Jenkins R, Meissner HC. Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended immunization schedule for persons aged 0 through 18 years–United States, 2013. MMWR Surveill Summ. 2013;62(suppl 1):2–8 - PubMed
    1. Brady MT, Byington CL, Davies HD, et al. Committee on Infectious Diseases, American Academy of Pediatrics . Recommended childhood and adolescent immunization schedule—United States, 2014. Pediatrics. 2014;133(2):357–363 - PubMed
    1. Eidelman AI, Schanler RJ, Johnston M, et al. Section on Breastfeeding . Breastfeeding and the use of human milk. Pediatrics. 2012;129(3). Available at: www.pediatrics.org/cgi/content/full/129/3/e827 - PubMed
    1. Committee on Health Care for Underserved Women, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists . ACOG Committee Opinion No. 361: Breastfeeding: maternal and infant aspects. Obstet Gynecol. 2007;109(2 pt 1):479–480 - PubMed
    1. Moon RY, Task Force on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome . SIDS and other sleep-related infant deaths: expansion of recommendations for a safe infant sleeping environment. Pediatrics. 2011;128(5):1030–1039 - PubMed

Publication types