Search

Breastfeeding is beneficial to both the mother and infant, yet many infants are either partially or fully fed with formula milk. Those parents feeding with formula receive less support from professional sources than those breastfeeding and may rely on more non-professional sources for advice, and this contributes to negative emotional experiences such as guilt. This paper explores the sources of advice for formula feeding, factors associated with using professional or non-professional sources and compares these sources with those used for breastfeeding advice. A secondary analysis of Australian survey data from 270 mothers was performed. Mothers of six-month-old infants participated in an online survey, providing information on advice they received or read about formula feeding and/or breastfeeding from professional and non-professional sources. A fifth of mothers who were formula feeding did not receive any formula feeding advice from professional sources, and only a small fraction (4.5%) of mothers breastfeeding did not received any breastfeeding advice from professional sources. Compared with those mothers breastfeeding receiving breastfeeding advice, fewer mothers formula feeding receive formula feeding advice from both professional and non-professional sources. The tin of formula was the most used source of formula advice. Mothers feeding with formula at six months were more likely to have received formula feeding advice from professional sources if they had been fully formula feeding before their infant was under the age of three months. Further research is needed to understand the specific barriers to accessing formula feeding advice and what other factors influence access to formula feeding advice.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the growth of breastfed infants whose mothers had inserted an etonogestrel-releasing implant in the immediate postpartum period. METHODS: An open randomized controlled and parallel trial of postpartum women who were block-randomized to early (up to 48 hours postpartum before discharge) or conventional (at 6 weeks postpartum) insertion of an etonogestrel implant. The primary outcome was average infant weight at 12 months (360 days) and a difference of equal to or greater than 10% between groups was considered clinically significant. The secondary outcomes were infants height and head and arm circumferences. These variables were measured at baseline and at 14 40 90 180 270 and 360 days postpartum. The mixed-effects linear regression model was used to evaluate the outcomes with a power of 80% and a significance level of 1% for the primary outcome and 0.3% for secondary outcomes as a result of correction for multiple hypothesis testing. RESULTS: From June to August 2015 a total of 100 women were randomized: 50 to early and 50 to conventional postpartum etonogestrel insertion. Sociodemographic characteristics were similar between the groups except for educational attainment. The conventional insertion group included a higher proportion of women with 8 or more years of formal education than the early insertion group (88% [44/50] compared with 70% [35/50] P=.02). There was no difference in infant weight at 360 days between the groups (early [mean±standard deviation] 10.1±1.2 kg compared with conventional 9.8±1.3 kg mean difference estimate 0.3 kg 95% confidence interval 0-0.7 kg). Growth curves height and head and arm circumferences did not differ between the groups. CONCLUSION: There is no difference in growth at 12 months among breastfed infants whose mothers underwent early compared with conventional postpartum insertion of the etonogestrel implant. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02469454

© 2016 Russell et al. Background: Despite the crucial need to develop targeted and effective approaches for obesity prevention in children most at risk, the pathways explaining socioeconomic disparity in children's obesity prevalence remain poorly understood. Methods: We conducted a systematic review of the literature that investigated causes of weight gain in children aged 0-5 years from socioeconomically disadvantaged or Indigenous backgrounds residing in OECD countries. Major electronic databases were searched from inception until December 2015. Key words identified studies addressing relationships between parenting, child eating, child physical activity or sedentary behaviour and child weight in disadvantaged samples. Results: A total of 32 articles met the inclusion criteria. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool quality rating for the studies ranged from 25 % (weak) to 100 % (strong). Studies predominantly reported on relationships between parenting and child weight (n = 21), or parenting and child eating (n = 12), with fewer (n = 8) investigating child eating and weight. Most evidence was from socio-economically disadvantaged ethnic minority groups in the USA. Clustering of diet, weight and feeding behaviours by socioeconomic indicators and ethnicity precluded identification of independent effects of each of these risk factors. Conclusions: This review has highlighted significant gaps in our mechanistic understanding of the relative importance of different aspects of parent and child behaviours in disadvantaged population groups.

Background/Objective: The Food and Nutrition stream of Australasian Child and Adolescent Obesity Research Network (ACAORN) aims to improve the quality of dietary methodologies and the reporting of dietary intake within Australasian child obesity research (http://www.acaorn.org.au/streams/nutrition/). Methods/Results: With 2012 marking ACAORN’s 10th anniversary, this commentary profiles a selection of child obesity nutrition research published over the last decade by Food and Nutrition Stream members. In addition, stream activities have included the development of an online selection guide to assist researchers in their selection of appropriate dietary intake methodologies (http://www.acaorn.org.au/streams/nutrition/dietary-intake/index.php). Conclusions: The quantity and quality of research to guide effective child obesity prevention and treatment has increased substantially over the last decade. ACAORN provides a successful case study of how research networks can provide a collegial atmosphere to foster and coordinate research efforts in another wise competitive environment Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Background/objectives: Data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) have previously shown that dietary patterns are observable by 3 years. However, it is not clear when dietary patterns emerge. We aimed to describe dietary patterns in early life and their associations with maternal and infant sociodemographic characteristics. Subjects/methods: Principal component analysis was applied to diet questionnaires of ALSPAC participants at 6 months (n=7052) and 15 months (n=5610) to extract dietary patterns. The sociodemographic factors associated with dietary patterns were investigated using regression analyses. Results: Four dietary patterns were extracted at both 6 and 15 months. A traditional-style pattern characterized by home-prepared meats, vegetables and desserts, a second pattern characterized by ready-prepared baby foods and a third pattern characterized by discretionary foods such as biscuits, sweets and crisps were identified at both ages. At 6 months, the fourth pattern was characterized predominantly by breastfeeding and at 15 months, by contemporary-style foods including herbs, legumes, nuts, raw fruit and vegetables. Higher maternal age and education, number of siblings and lower body mass index (BMI) was associated with higher scores on the breastfeeding or meat, vegetables and desserts patterns, whereas higher discretionary food pattern scores were associated with younger maternal age, lower education, higher BMI and more siblings. Associations between sociodemographic factors and the ready-prepared baby food pattern scores were inconsistent across ages. Conclusions: Dietary patterns emerge from infancy and are associated with sociodemographic characteristics. Refereed/Peer-reviewed