(P07-066-23) Maternal Mental Health and Infant Complementary Feeding Practices

Objectives: To evaluate the association between postpartum depressive symptoms and complementary feeding practices among infants in the United States (US).

Methods: Data were obtained from the Infant Feeding Practices Study II, a national prospective cohort following the mother-infant dyads (n=1999) from late pregnancy throughout the first year of life that provides the most comprehensive data on infant feeding in the US. At two months postpartum, mothers were evaluated for postpartum depressive symptoms (PPD) using the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale (total score range: 0-30). Mothers scoring 10 or higher on the scale were classified as having PPD. Mothers reported foods fed to infants including breast milk, infant formula, liquids, and solid foods in the past 7 days every 1-1.5 months throughout the first year. The timing of introducing complementary foods (solid foods or liquids) was calculated and also categorized as: 1) before 4 months; 2) between 4-5 months; and 3) 6 months or more. The daily dietary diversity scores between 6-12 months postpartum (range: 0-7) were calculated. Multivariable linear and multinomial logistic regression models were applied to assess the association between PPD and the timing of introducing complementary foods. Linear mixed models were used to estimate the effect of PPD on daily dietary diversity.

Results: In this cohort, 23.6% of the mothers had PPD. The timing to introduce complementary foods by mothers with PPD was 0.2 months earlier than mothers without PPD (β = -0.24, 95% CI: -0.42, -0.08), but the association was nonsignificant after covariate adjustment. Mothers had higher odds of introducing complementary foods before 4 months vs. 6 months or more if mothers switched from without PPD to with PPD when holding covariates constant (Adjusted Odds Ratio = 1.37, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.87). There was no association between maternal PPD and dietary diversity from 6-12 months of age.

Conclusions: Mothers with depressive symptoms in early postpartum may prompt an earlier introduction to complementary foods especially before 4 months of age. Changes in dietary diversity over time were similar between mothers with or without PPD.

Funding Sources: The work was supported by the SPARC Graduate Research Grant via the Office of the Vice President for Research at the University of South Carolina.