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
. 2017 Jul-Aug;49(7 Suppl 2):S169-S176.e1.
doi: 10.1016/j.jneb.2017.04.004.

Maternal Distraction During Breast- and Bottle Feeding Among WIC and non-WIC Mothers

Alison K Ventura  1 , Simone Teitelbaum  2
Affiliations

Maternal Distraction During Breast- and Bottle Feeding Among WIC and non-WIC Mothers

Alison K Ventura et al. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2017 Jul-Aug.

Abstract

Objective: To explore the prevalence and correlates of maternal distraction during infant feeding within a sample of mothers enrolled or not in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Woman, Infants, and Children (WIC).

Design: Mothers kept diaries of their infants' feeding patterns.

Participants: Mothers (n = 75) with infants aged ≤6 months.

Main outcome measures: Within the diaries, mothers recorded what else, if anything, they did during the feeding. Mothers also completed questionnaires on demographics, feeding styles, and infant temperament and eating behaviors.

Analysis: Mothers' responses were coded into thematic categories. Feedings were classified as distracted when the mothers reported doing something other than feeding and/or interacting with the infant. Logistic regression was used to explore whether mothers exhibited different levels of distraction when breastfeeding (BF) vs bottle feeding. The researchers used multiple stepwise regression to explore associations between distracted feeding and characteristics of mothers and infants.

Results: Distractions were reported during 43% of feedings; 26% involved technological distractors. Mothers who were multiparous and perceived that their infants had greater appetites reported greater levels of any distraction during feeding. Mothers who were of racial/ethnic minorities, adhered to laissez faire feeding style, had younger infants, and perceived their infants to have lower food responsiveness and greater appetite reported greater levels of technological distraction. Being enrolled in WIC was not associated with mothers' levels of distracted feeding.

Conclusions and implications: Mothers reported a wide variety of distractions during both BF and bottle feeding; higher levels of distraction were associated with characteristics of both mothers and infants. Further research is needed to understand whether and how maternal distraction affects feeding outcomes. Awareness of such distractions and their potential impact would be useful to practitioners working with pregnant and postpartum women.

Keywords: bottle feeding; breastfeeding; child development; distracted feeding; responsive feeding.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

References

    1. DiSantis KI, Hodges EA, Johnson SL, Fisher JO. The role of responsive feeding in overweight during infancy and toddlerhood: a systematic review. Int J of Obes. 2011;35(4):480–492. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Farrow C, Blissett J. Does maternal control during feeding moderate early infant weight gain? Pediatrics. 2006;118(2):e293–298. - PubMed
    1. Leerkes EM, Wong MS. Infant Distress and Regulatory Behaviors Vary as a Function of Attachment Security Regardless of Emotion Context and Maternal Involvement. Infancy. 2012;17(5):455–478. - PMC - PubMed
    1. van Bakel HJ, Riksen-Walraven JM. Stress reactivity in 15-month-old infants: links with infant temperament, cognitive competence, and attachment security. Dev Psychobiol. 2004;44(3):157–167. - PubMed
    1. Lyons-Ruth K, Block D. The disturbed caregiving system: Relations among childhood trauma, maternal caregiving, and infant affect and attachment. Infant Mental Health J. 1996;17:257–275.