The relation between breast-feeding feeding, transition and child development risk

Abstract

The objective is to investigate the association between feeding transition, breast-feeding and child development risk. The sample consisted of 62 mother-baby dyads. Data collection occurred through the analysis of mother-baby interaction based on Child Development Risk Inventory (CDRI) and on an interview which investigated aspects related to breast-feeding and feeding transition. The data were organized in categories of feeding transition and breast-feeding, presence or absence of child development risk, and were statistically analyzed by the software STATISTICA 9.0. The results showed that the difficulty for feeding transition, mainly in relation to the introduction of solids, and for exclusive breast feeding until 6 months were significantly correlated with the presence of child development risk. The research demonstrated that breast-feeding and feeding transition diffi culties are associated with alterations in initial interactions, especially with the theoretical axis related to the father function.