Maternal acculturation and the growth of impoverished Mexican American infants

Identification of early life risk factors that predispose low-income Hispanic children to obesity is critical. For low-income Mexican American mothers, the cultural context may influence maternal experience and behaviors relevant to infant weight and growth.

In a longitudinal study of 322 low-income Mexican American mother-infant dyads, linear growth modeling examined the relation of maternal acculturation to infant weight gain across the first year and evaluated birth outcomes, breastfeeding, and maternal BMI as mediators.

There was a high prevalence (36% >95th percentile) of infants with obesity at 1 year. Higher maternal acculturation was associated with lower birth weight, higher infant weight at 6 weeks, and a lower prevalence of breastfeeding. Mediation analyses supported formula-feeding as a mediator of the relation between higher maternal acculturation and an increasing slope of infant weight gain across the first year.

Breastfeeding may have measurable benefits for Mexican American child obesity status in this high-risk population, particularly among those with more acculturated mothers.