Mother-child feeding interactions in extremely preterm, very preterm and full-term dyads at 18 months of age

Introduction: Nutrition has always represented a problematic area for preterm children and their mothers, with more concerns for children born very and extremely preterm. However, literature lacks of studies that explore mother-child feeding interactions after the first year postpartum. Aims of the study: The present study investigates the quality of mother-child feeding interactions in Extremely Low Birth Weight (ELBW), Very Low Birth Weight (VLBW) and Full-Term (FT) dyads at 18 months of age of the child. The role of the child’s cognitive development and behavior is also evaluated as additional measure. Material and methods: The sample includes 60 children and their mothers recruited from the province of Cesena (Italy): 15 ELBW (gestational age (GA) <32 weeks and birth weight (BW) <1000 grams); 20 VLBW (GA <32 weeks and BW <1500 grams) and 25 FT (GA >37 weeks; BW >2500 grams). Exclusion criteria were: child’s cerebral damage or chromosomal abnormality, parental psychiatric history and poor knowledge of Italian. At 18 months, 20 minutes of mother-child interaction during feeding were videotaped and later coded according to the Italian version of the Feeding Scale (SVIA). The child’s development was assessed trough the Griffith Scale and mothers completed the Child Behavior Check List as a measure of the child’s behavior. Results: ELBW dyads showed poorer feeding interactions than VLBW and FT dyads, displaying more maternal negative affect, higher interactional conflict and less dyadic reciprocity during the meal. No differences were found between VLBW and FT group. Moreover, no significant differences were found for the child’s cognitive development and behavior among groups. Conclusions: Among the population of preterm children, ELBW children seem to be at higher risk to experience more difficult and conflictual feeding interactions with their mother. Further longitudinal research should explore the long-term impact of these interactions on the child’s eating behavior.