Use of Videos to Provide Anticipatory Infant Feeding Guidance During Well-Child Visits: A Pragmatic Pilot Study

Area of Science:

• Pediatrics
• Public Health
• Health Communication

Background:

• Anticipatory guidance on infant feeding is crucial for healthy development.
• Traditional methods of delivering guidance during well-child visits (WCVs) may have limitations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary impact of using videos for infant feeding guidance during WCVs.
• To assess parental and clinic staff perceptions of video-based guidance.

Main Methods:

• A pragmatic, quasi-experimental pilot study comparing video guidance (intervention) to safe sleep information (control).
• Parents viewed videos during 4- or 12-month WCVs and completed post-surveys.
• Infant feeding surveys were conducted at 6- or 15-month WCVs for a subset of participants.

Main Results:

• High parent satisfaction with intervention videos (78%-96% found them helpful, engaging, informative).
• No significant difference in fruit juice introduction by 6 months.
• Intervention group less likely to introduce sugar-sweetened beverages by 15 months.
• Clinic staff supported video integration into WCVs.

Conclusions:

• Video-based anticipatory guidance is a promising strategy for improving infant feeding.
• This approach is feasible, acceptable to parents, and supported by clinic staff.
• Further research can explore broader implementation in pediatric primary care settings.