Infant Feeding and Care Practices in the United States: Results From the Infant Feeding Practices Study II

Abstract

The authors have indicated they have no financial relationships relevant to this article to disclose.T HIS SUPPLEMENTAL ISSUE of Pediatrics presents the first set of results from the Infant Feeding Practices Study II (IFPS II), which were chosen to cover a wide range of the topics included in the study. The IFPS II was conducted collaboratively by the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and was co-funded by other agencies in the Department of Health and Human Services, as indicated in "Acknowledgments."The design of the IFPS II was similar to that of the original study (the IFPS I), which was conducted in 1992-1993. In the current longitudinal survey, a large cohort of 4900 women was enrolled prenatally, and Ͼ2000 were followed through the first year of their infant's life. The mothers were mailed 1 prenatal and 10 postnatal questionnaires at approximate monthly intervals; in addition, prenatal and postnatal subsamples were administered a dietary intake questionnaire. The questionnaires were modeled on the IFPS I, but the IFPS II included several new topics such as postpartum depression, consumption of herbal and alternative medicines, breast-pump use, and infant sleeping arrangements. The details of the study methods and a list of publications from the IFPS I are presented in an article by Fein et al 1 in this supplement.Why an IFPS II? In the decade since the IFPS I, significant changes have occurred in the products, policies, information, and education related to infant feeding choices. Breast pumps have become more effective and more affordable; new ingredients have been added to infant formula; and changes in state and federal laws have reduced some barriers to breastfeeding. Policies and recommendations about infant feeding (duration and exclusivity) have changed. In 2004 -2006, the Department of Health and Human Services conducted a national breastfeeding-promotion campaign, the impact of which had to be evaluated. Thus, the IFPS II was conducted to better understand current infant feeding practices approximately 1 decade after the IFPS I.The 13 articles in this supplement provide results on several feeding issues: breastfeeding patterns, intensity, and duration; reasons for stopping breastfeeding; and transitional and complementary feeding, including provision of iron-rich foods and supplements to breastfed infants. They examine the association between mothers' behaviors with respect to their infants' feeding and mothers' interface with certain types of organizations that may support or limit their choices, including the maternity care practices of the place at which they delivered and the breastfeedingrelated options associated with their place of employment. The articles also describe and analyze patterns of breast milk expression; infant formula handling practices; infant sleeping arrangements; and food-related health problems including food allergy. Another article analyzes the effects of breastfeeding intensity, infant-initiated bottle emptying, and ...

Associations between high prepregnancy body mass index, breast-milk expression, and breast-milk production and feeding

“…Although there are internationally recognized breastfeeding terms that may include feeding expressed milk (33), these terms do not separate women who are feeding breast milk but not feeding at the breast, expressing predominantly or exclusively, or engaging in other behaviors involving the feeding of breast milk that have only recently become more common. Finally, the generalizability of this study to the American population is limited by the low proportion of minority women in the IFPS II (34).…”

Adherence to Vitamin D Recommendations Among US Infants

“…17 The sample was drawn from a consumeropinion mail panel that was nationally distributed but not nationally representative. Women were recruited in their third trimester of pregnancy; mothers at least 18 years of age, mothers and infants without medical conditions that would affect feeding, and infants who were born after at least 35 weeks' gestation and weighed at least 5 lb were included in the study.…”

Infant Feeding Practices and Reported Food Allergies at 6 Years of Age

“…Survey data were collected approximately monthly from pregnancy through the infant' s first 12 months of life and queried various information on infant feeding and health, including food allergies, maternal diet and health, and demographic and environmental variables. 17 Eligible mothers enrolled in IFPS II were recontacted in 2012 to provide follow-up information for themselves and their 6-year old child. The Y6FU survey queried various information about the child such as current health status, including physician diagnosis of food allergy, food environment, home environment, and other related outcomes.…”

“…9,[12][13][14][15] The Infant Feeding Practices Study II (IFPS II) and the Year 6 Follow-Up Study (Y6FU), a longitudinal survey of .1500 pregnant women that assessed comprehensive dietary and health histories of their children from birth through 12 months and again at 6 years of age, offer opportunities to study early life practices that contribute to food allergy development by age 6 years. 16,17 Certain characteristics of a probable food allergy (pFA) in infants ,1 year old from the IPFS II have previously been reported. 18 The present article expands on the previous article by using the longitudinal data to characterize the development of food allergies in the IFPS II sample when the children are 6 years old.…”