Prospective relations between maternal emotional eating, feeding to soothe, and infant appetitive behaviors

Abstract

Background: Infant obesogenic appetitive behaviors are associated with greater infant weight and child obesity, yet little is known about maternal influences on infant appetitive behaviors. This study examines the relations between maternal eating behaviors, feeding to soothe, and infant appetitive behaviors in a longitudinal sample of United States mothers.

Methods: Pregnant women were recruited in the first trimester (< 12 weeks) and followed through 1 year postpartum. Mothers reported their own eating behaviors (eating competence, restrained, emotional, and external eating) in pregnancy; feeding to soothe their infant at 2, 6, and 12 months postpartum; and their infants' appetitive behaviors (enjoyment of food, food responsiveness, slowness in eating, and satiety responsiveness) at 6 months. Three path models were estimated to examine the direct relations of maternal eating behaviors with infant appetitive behaviors, the indirect relations of maternal eating behaviors with infant appetitive behaviors through feeding to soothe, and the longitudinal relations between feeding to soothe and infant appetitive behaviors.

Results: Maternal eating behaviors and infant appetitive behaviors were directly and indirectly related in all three models. Greater maternal eating competence was related to greater enjoyment of food but was not related to feeding to soothe. Greater maternal restrained and external eating were not directly related to infant appetitive behaviors but were indirectly related to greater infant responsiveness to food through more frequent feeding to soothe. Additionally, several longitudinal relations between feeding to soothe behaviors and infant appetitive behaviors were present. More frequent feeding to soothe at 2 months was related to greater responsiveness to food at 6 months, which was then related to more frequent feeding to soothe at 6 months. Furthermore, greater satiety responsiveness, faster eating speed, and greater responsiveness to food at 6 months were related to more frequent feeding to soothe at 12 months.

Conclusions: Maternal eating behaviors were related to infant appetitive behaviors directly and indirectly through feeding to soothe. Additionally, results suggest feeding to soothe and infant appetitive behaviors may be bidirectionally linked. These results underscore the need to examine how parental feeding behaviors are influenced both by parental eating behaviors and child appetitive behaviors throughout infancy.

Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov. Registration ID - NCT02217462 . Date of registration - August 13, 2014.

Keywords: Appetitive behaviors; Eating behavior; Feeding to soothe; Infancy; Mother-infant relationships.

Fig. 1

Model 1 examining the mediating effect of feeding to soothe on the relations between maternal eating behaviors, maternal eating competence, and infant appetitive behaviors. Note: Standardized estimates and confidence intervals are reported. Maternal ethnicity is included as a control (0 = ethnic minority, 1 = white non-Hispanic). Outcome residuals and covariances were significantly correlated, but are not shown. The direct effects of all maternal eating competence and behaviors on infant appetitive behaviors were estimated but only the significant direct effects are shown. Black arrows indicate significant relations; gray arrows indicate nonsignificant relations. χ² (4) = 10.08, p = .04, CFI = .91, TLI = .22 RMSEA = .07, SRMR = .02. *p < .05; **p < .01

Fig. 2

Model 2 examining the reciprocal associations of feeding to soothe at 2 and 6 months and infant appetitive behaviors. Note: Standardized estimates and confidence intervals are reported. Maternal ethnicity is included as a control (0 = ethnic minority, 1 = white non-Hispanic). Outcome residuals and covariances were significantly correlated, but are not shown. The direct effects of all maternal eating competence and behaviors on infant appetitive behaviors were estimated but only the significant direct effects are shown. Black arrows indicate significant relations; gray arrows indicate nonsignificant relations. χ² (9) = 22.43, p = .01, CFI = .91, TLI = .54, RMSEA = .07, SRMR = .03. *p < .05; **p < .01

Fig. 3

Model 3 examining the reciprocal associations of feeding to soothe at 2 and 12 months and infant appetitive behaviors. Note: Standardized estimates and confidence intervals are reported. Maternal ethnicity is included as a control (0 = ethnic minority, 1 = white non-Hispanic). Outcome residuals and covariances were significantly correlated, but are not shown. The direct effects of all maternal eating competence and behaviors on infant appetitive behaviors were estimated but only the significant direct effects are shown. Black arrows indicate significant relations; gray arrows indicate nonsignificant relations. χ² (9) = 21.83, p = .01, CFI = .90, TLI = .51, RMSEA = .07, SRMR = .03. *p < .05; **p < .01