Maternal Pressure and Frequent Use of Bottle During Feeding Moderate Infant Food Cue Reactivity over Time

Background: Food cue reactivity (FCR) has been associated with a higher obesity risk, but little is known about what factors influence FCR during infancy. This study examined the moderating effects of maternal feeding styles and bottle feeding on the associations between 2-month and 6-month FCR. Methods: Data came from 299 mother-infant dyads who participated in a larger early-obesity-risk study and provided information via online questionnaires (i.e., socio-demographics) and/or during lab visits (i.e., anthropometrics) prenatally and at 2 and 6 months postpartum. Food-related practices (i.e., bottle use, milk type), feeding styles and FCR were measured by previously validated mother-reported measures: Infant Feeding Practices, Infant Feeding Styles, and Baby Eating Behavior Questionnaires. A regression model with moderation effects between 2-month FCR, feeding styles, and bottle feeding on 6-month FCR was tested using Mplus, controlling for selected variables (i.e., milk type, infant birthweight). Maternal pressure interacted with 2-month FCR and bottle feeding to predict 6-month FCR. Results: The moderating role of higher pressure was significant only for infants who received most of their feeds via a bottle ("high" bottle feeding). No other interactions were significant. Maternal feeding pressure in combination with frequent bottle feeding further strengthens the positive association between early and late FCR in infancy. Conclusions: Given the previously established links between FCR and weight outcomes among children, reducing the controlling maternal feeding practice of pressure during feeding in infancy, especially among mothers who frequently bottle feed, might be an important intervention target for optimizing weight outcomes in the first year of life.