Breastfeeding and Maternal Responsiveness Literature Review, from Advances in Nutrition
The journal Advances in Nutrition has released an article entitled, “Associations between Breastfeeding and Maternal Responsiveness: A Systematic Review of the Literature.” The systematic review synthesizes the accumulating bodies of evidence aimed at understanding associations between mother’s feeding experiences and responsive feeding in an attempt to clarify the nature of associations between feeding mode and responsive feeding. Cross-sectional observational studies consistently reported greater responsiveness among breastfeeding mothers than among formula-/bottle-feeding mothers. In addition, longitudinal studies showed that longer breastfeeding durations predicted lower use of nonresponsive feeding practices during later childhood, and some, but not all, found that breastfeeding mothers showed greater increases in responsiveness across infancy than did formula-/bottle-feeding mothers. However, a limited number of longitudinal studies also reported that greater responsiveness during early infancy predicted longer breastfeeding durations. In sum, although there is consistent evidence for an association between breastfeeding and responsive feeding, more research is needed to better understand the mechanisms underlying this association.
USBC: Staying Abreast of the Times May 31, 2017
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