Margaret Bosenbark MSN, RN, PhD Candidate
Clinical Assistant Professor
College of Nursing, Texas A&M University
Rapid infant weight gain (RIWG) has been established as an infant predictor of adult disease such as, coronary artery disease, hypertension, obesity, and diabetes type two. RIWG is well established in the literature with several key contributing factors, including infant feeding modality, ethnicity, maternal basal metabolic rate, socioeconomic status, timing of solid food introduction, and parenting response to infant temperament. The objective of this cross sectional retrospective quantitative study is to identify if parenting beliefs have an effect on infant growth. By better understanding the link between parenting and infant growth, this study will help to add evidence to the state of the science which seeks to establish a predictor set of variables surrounding RIWG. The specific aims of the study are to, (1) identify where along a spectrum of parenting beliefs a participant falls, (2) demonstrate infant growth patterns retrospectively across the first year of life, and (3) understand the impact that parenting beliefs have on infant growth after controlling for a set of predictor variables; maternal age, BMI, highest level of education, socio-economic status, ethnicity, perception of infant temperament, infant gender, breastfeeding status, and timing of solid food introduction. The sample for the study was that of English-peaking first-time moms whose infant is between 12 and 24 months old. The infant must be a singleton, term infant with no medical diagnosis that would impact growth and development. Each mother completed a demographic and parenting survey, had their height and weight measured and then granted HIPPA access to their infant’s growth chart data for review.