Mothers' negative affectivity during pregnancy and food choices for their infants.

Abstract

The objective of this study was to analyze whether maternal negative affectivity assessed in pregnancy is related with subsequent infant food choices. The study design was a cohort study. The subjects were mothers (N=37 919) and their infants participating in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study conducted by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. Maternal negative affectivity assessed prepartum (Hopkins Symptom Checklist 5 (SCL-5) at weeks 17 and 30 of pregnancy), introduction of solid foods by month 3 and feeding of sweet drinks by month 6 (by the reports of the mothers) were analyzed. Mothers with higher negative affectivity were 64% more likely (95% confidence interval 1.5-1.8) to feed sweet drinks by month 6, and 79% more likely (95% confidence interval 1.6-2.0) to introduce solid foods by month 3. These odds decreased to 41 and 30%, respectively, after adjusting for mother's age, body mass index (BMI) and education. The maternal trait of negative affectivity is an independent predictor of infant feeding practices that may be related with childhood weight gain, overweight and obesity.