Infant Feeding Practices Study II: Study Methods

Abstract

OBJECTIVE. Our goal is to describe the methods used in the Infant Feeding Practices Study II (IFPS II), a study of infant feeding and care practices throughout the first year of life. Survey topics included breastfeeding, formula and complementary feeding, infant health, breast-pump use, food allergies, sleeping arrangements, mother's employment, and child care arrangements. In addition, mothers' dietary intake was measured prenatally and postnatally.PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS. The IFPS II sample was drawn from a nationally distributed consumer opinion panel of 500 000 households. All questionnaires were administered by mail, 1 prenatally and 10 postpartum. Qualifying criteria were used to achieve the sample goals of mothers of healthy term and late preterm singleton infants. In addition to the questionnaires about the infants, women were sent a diet-assessment questionnaire prenatally and at ϳ4 months after delivery; this questionnaire was also sent to members of a comparison group who were neither pregnant nor postpartum. RESULTS.A sample of 4902 pregnant women began the study, and ϳ2000 continued through their infant's first year. Response rates ranged from 63% to 87% for the different questionnaires. Compared with adult mothers of singletons from the nationally representative sample of the National Survey of Family Growth, IFPS II participants had a higher mean education level; were older; were more likely to be middle income, white, and employed; were less likely to smoke; and had fewer other children. Compared with women who participated in the National Immunization Survey who gave birth in 2004, IFPS II mothers were more likely to breastfeed and to breastfeed longer. CONCLUSIONS.The IFPS II provides a valuable database because of its large sample size, the frequency of its questionnaires, and its wide coverage of issues salient to infant feeding. Pediatrics 2008;122:S28-S35 T HE INFANT FEEDING Practices Study II (IFPS II) is a longitudinal study of women from late pregnancy through their infant's first year of life. It is a follow-up to the IFPS I, conducted by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1992-1993, which provided detailed information about general infant feeding patterns and infant health. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] In the approximate decade since the original study, there have been significant changes in the products, policies, information, and education related to infant feeding choices. For example, breast pumps have become more effective and more affordable for individuals, new ingredients have been added to infant formula, changes in state and federal laws have reduced the barriers that women face in choosing to breastfeed, and policies and recommendations about infant feeding have changed. In addition, research has more clearly defined the health benefits of breastfeeding for infants in developed countries, 14 and new breastfeeding-promotion campaigns have been conducted.The IFPS II was conducted to better understand the infant feeding practices used by women...

The Association of Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Intake During Infancy With Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Intake at 6 Years of Age

“…Detailed information on this survey administration and data collection have been previously published. 21 A total of 1542 children who participated in both IFPS II and a Year 6 FollowUp (Y6FU) survey in 2012 were included. About half (48%) of the children who participated in the original survey were lost to follow-up at 6 years of age.…”

Breastfeeding and Later Psychosocial Development of Children at 6 Years of Age

“…18,19 The IFPS II followed mothers and infants from late pregnancy through 1 year postpartum to understand infant feeding patterns, infants' health, factors that may affect infant feeding, and mothers' health and diet. Data were collected from May 2005 through June 2007 by using a nationally distributed consumer opinion panel.…”

“…Duration of exclusive breastfeeding was not asked directly; therefore, exclusive breastfeeding duration was calculated by estimating the midpoint between the infant' s age on the last questionnaire in which the mother indicated exclusive breastfeeding and the infant's age on the first questionnaire in which she indicated that she was not exclusively breastfeeding. 18 Our predictor variable, breastfeeding duration, combined the overall and exclusive breastfeeding duration composite variables and was categorized as follows: never breastfed, breastfed ,6 months, breastfed $6 months but exclusively breastfed ,3 months, and breastfed $6 months and exclusively breastfed $3 months.…”

Infant Feeding and Feeding Transitions During the First Year of Life

“…The 3 solid food groups were meat or meat substitutes (meat/chicken, fish, peanuts, eggs, soy foods), fruits or vegetables (not including juice), and cereals (including infant cereal and other cereals/ starches). We then created the following 8 categories of food consumption: (1) 3 groups of solids consumed at least once per day; (2) 2 groups of solids consumed at least once per day; (3) 1 group of solids consumed at least once per day; (4) some solids consumed but no group consumed at least once per day; (5) liquids other than breast milk or formula but no solids consumed; (6) only breast milk and formula consumed; (7) only formula consumed; and (8) only breast milk consumed.…”