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Topical Area: Maternal, Perinatal and Pediatric Nutrition

Maternal, Perinatal and Pediatric Nutrition (II) (Poster Session)

(P18-004-23) Associations of Infant Feeding Type and Mode With Frequency and Volume

Sunday, July 23, 2023

12:45 PM – 1:45 PM ET

Location: Poster Board 478

Presenting Author(s)

CA

Chloe Andrews, M.S, RD, CLC

PhD Student/Project Manager
Tufts University/Brigham and Women's Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Co-Author(s)

Carmen Monthe-Dreze, MD (she/her/hers)

Instructor of Pediatrics/Neonatologist
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Paige K. Berger, PhD, RDN

Investigator
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
SV

Saumya Vodapally

Brigham and Women's Hospital
IL

Isabella Lawandy, MS, MPH

Brigham and Women's Hospital
AA

Asimenia Angelidou, MD

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
CM

Camilia Martin, MD

Weill Cornell Medicine
SS

Sarbattama Sen, M.D

Brigham and Women's Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Disclosure(s):

Chloe Andrews, M.S, RD, CLC: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Carmen Monthe-Dreze, MD: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Paige K. Berger, PhD, RDN: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Objectives: To describe infant feeding patterns at six weeks of life and differences in feeding frequency and volume by feeding type and mode.

Methods: This was a secondary analysis of 71 mother-infant dyads recruited in the Maternal & Infant Metabolome & Microbiome Study in Boston, MA between 2019-2023. At 6 weeks postpartum, mothers completed 24-hour feeding logs, which reported pre- and post-breastfeeding (BF) weights, BF duration, and volumes of formula and expressed breast milk (EBM). We determined associations between feeding type (exclusive breast milk vs. any formula) and mode (exclusive BF vs. any bottle feeding) with number of feedings/day, average feeding volume, and total daily feeding volume using adjusted linear regression.

Results: Median maternal age was 35 (interquartile range (IQR) 32-37) years, early pregnancy body mass index (BMI) was 24.6 (IQR 21.5-27.9) kg/m2, and gestational age at delivery was 39.3 (IQR 39.0-40.0) weeks. Fifty-one infants (71.8%) received exclusive breast milk and 20 (28.2%) received any formula. Twenty-three infants (32.4%) breastfed exclusively and 48 (67.6%) received any bottle feeding. For the entire cohort, median feeding frequency was 9 (IQR 5-12) feeds/day, average feeding volume was 83.0 (IQR 62.1-102.0) mL/feed, and total feeding volume was 667.7 (IQR 584.3-881.6) mL/day. After adjustment for household income, maternal early-pregnancy BMI, and gestational age at delivery, infants who received any formula fed less frequently (β -1.3 feeds/day; 95% CI -2.4, -0.1; p=0.029) and had higher average feeding volume (β 23.0 mL/feed; 95% CI 0.4, 45.7; p=0.046) compared to infants who received exclusive breast milk. There was a trend towards infants who received any bottle feeding, feeding less frequently compared to infants who were exclusively BF (β -1.0 feeds/day; 95% CI -2.1, 0.06; p=0.062).

Conclusions: In this cohort, feeding type was a more relevant predictor of feeding frequency and volume than feeding mode. Future studies should determine the impact of these findings on child growth outcomes.

Funding Sources: This research was funded by the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center.