Abstract
Follow-up studies have shown that some SGA infants do not catch-up in physical growth during the first 6 months. One possible causal factor is continued postnatal nutritional deficit. We hypothesized that a) SGA infants would exhibit less optimal feeding behaviors than ACA (appropriate-for-GA) infants, b) this would negatively affect maternal behavior during feeding, and c) non-optimal interactions would be associated with lower caloric intake. Fifteen term SGA (bw<10th%) and 15 term AGA (bw25th-90th%) infants matched for age, sex, GA, neonatal risk factors, maternal age, SES and parity were rated for non-optimal behaviors with reference to a feeding interaction during the first 3 days of life. Caloric intake was measured by the difference in infant weight before and after feeding. SGA infants scored lower on ratings of responsiveness (p<.05), ease of feeding (p<.05) and muscular tension (p<.01), while mothers of SGA infants exhibited higher total frequency of non-optimal feeding behaviors (p<.001) such as interruption of feeding and expression of concern. Positive correlations were found between infant non-optimal ratings and maternal non-optimal behaviors (p<.01). After controlling for birth weight, linear regression showed caloric intake to be predicted by infant non-optimal ratings (p<.01) and infant non-optimal behaviors (p<.05). These data indicate the importance of including neonatal behavior in the risk assessment of potential growth failures in SGA infants.
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Mullen, M., Coll, C., Vobr, B. et al. MOTHER-INFANT FEEDING INTERACTION IN FULL-TERM SMALL-FOR-GESTATIONAL AGE (SGA) INFANTS. Pediatr Res 21 (Suppl 4), 183 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198704010-00099
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198704010-00099