Breastfeeding Behaviors and Maternal Interaction Quality in a Low-Income, Ethnic Minority Population. Issue 3 (April 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Whipps, Mackenzie D. M.; Miller, Elizabeth B.; Bogen, Debra L.; Mendelsohn, Alan L.; Morris, Pamela A.; Shaw, Daniel; Gross, Rachel S.
• Is Part Of: Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics. Volume 41:Issue 3(2020)
• Publication Date: 2020-04
• Subjects: breastfeeding -- infant feeding -- parenting -- sensitivity -- low-income families; Child development -- Periodicals; Developmental disabilities -- Periodicals; Behavior disorders in children -- Periodicals; Learning disabilities -- Periodicals; Child psychiatry -- Periodicals; 618.92805
• DOI: 10.1097/DBP.0000000000000743
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0196-206X

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Objective: To examine the associations between breastfeeding intensity and underexplored features of maternal-child interaction quality over and above the influence of breastfeeding initiation. Methods: The current study leveraged an on-going, multisite randomized controlled trial of a tiered parenting program for 462 Medicaid-eligible mothers and their infants in the United States. We examined whether breastfeeding intensity and exclusivity was associated with observed maternal sensitivity, intrusiveness, and detachment, as well as self-reported maternal verbal responsiveness, 6 months infant age. Analyses controlled for breastfeeding initiation, demographics, and early parenting experiences. Results: Higher intensity breastfeeding at 6 months was significantly related to higher maternal sensitivity (β = 0.12, p = 0.004) and lower maternal intrusiveness (β = −0.10, p = 0.045). There was no significant association between breastfeeding intensity at 6 months and detachment (β = −0.02, no significant [ ns ]) or self-reported verbal responsiveness (β = 0.11, ns ). Results were the same when intensity was measured as a dichotomous indicator for exclusive breastfeeding. Effect sizes were small-to-moderate, ranging from Cohen's d = 0.26 to 0.31. Associations did not vary by site, race/ethnicity, infant difficultness, or household poverty. Conclusion: The finding that breastfeeding intensity was significantly and independently associated with maternal sensitivity and intrusiveness is novel in the literature on low-income families from the United States. These findings have implications for breastfeeding promotion strategies and indicate that future research should explore synergistic or spillover effects of interventions aimed at maternal-child interaction quality into the infant feeding domain, particularly in the primary care setting.