Maternal Perceptions of Infant Hunger, Satiety, and Pressuring Feeding Styles in an Urban Latina WIC Population

Prevalence and Reasons for Introducing Infants Early to Solid Foods: Variations by Milk Feeding Type

“…Early solid food introduction among this group of mothers for the reasons cited may represent a progression of efforts to respond to perceived hunger and to improve the duration of their infant' s sleep, which are also common reasons for augmenting breast milk with formula. 28,29 In an earlier analysis of this study population, breastfeeding mothers responded that they stopped breastfeeding because they believed they were not producing enough milk or that their infant was hungry. 28 More than 70% of mothers in our study indicated that they introduced solid foods early because their "baby seemed hungry a lot of the time."…”

Differences in modifiable feeding factors by overweight status in Latino infants

“…[16][17][18] A study of 368 Latina mothers participating in WIC programs reported that 50% of the participants described tendencies toward more "pressure feeding" or controlling maternal feeding patterns, as they always promoted bottle bottleemptying practices. [19] Maternal controlling feeding patterns may contribute to higher energy intake and thus represent an important preventable and modifiable risk factor for the prevention of obesity in early childhood.…”

Looking for cues – infant communication of hunger and satiation during milk feeding

“…Gross et al (2010) observed that obese mothers who breastfed for longer than other obese mothers, perceived hand sucking as a hunger cue and were therefore more aware of their infant's engagement cues. Overfeeding possibly results from missed cues, using feeding to soothe and/or responding to difficult temperaments (Stifter et al (2011).…”