Maternal self-rated health and psychological distress predict early feeding difficulties: Results from the longitudinal study of Australian children.

Background: Drawing from the extended UNICEF model of children's eating and weight problems and growing empirical evidence, exposure to adversity may place mothers at increased risk for child feeding difficulties.

Aim: The aim of the present study of a community sample of mothers was to examine whether maternal psychological distress, exposure to stressful events, and poor self-rated health in their child's first year of life were associated with breastfeeding duration, as well as concurrent and prospective feeding problems.

Materials & Methods: Participants were 5107 Australian mother-child dyads from the infant cohort of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC). Data for the present study was drawn from questionnaires completed by the mother at Wave 1 and Wave 2 (conducted 2 years apart). On average, at Wave 1, mothers and children (51% male) were aged 31 years and 9 months, respectively; while at Wave 2 their ages were 33 years and 34 months, respectively.

Results: Maternal psychological distress and poorer self-rated health were uniquely predictive of concurrent and prospective child feeding difficulties, while poorer self-rated health was also concurrently associated with a shorter duration of breastfeeding.

Discussion: These findings suggest that poorer maternal functioning poses a significant risk for early child feeding difficulties, and highlights the potential benefit of screening and early intervention for mothers experiencing emotional and physical health problems.

Conclusion: Further research is needed that takes a broad view of maternal functioning, and examines reciprocal interactions between maternal and child characteristics in understanding the development of child feeding problems.