Clinical Outcomes from an Interdisciplinary Outpatient Feeding Treatment Pilot Program.

Many children with developmental disabilities experience feeding challenges, including food refusal and food selectivity. Feeding concerns are often multifaceted and, therefore, an interdisciplinary approach to treatment is needed. A pilot of an interdisciplinary outpatient feeding program was conducted in a hospital medical center by psychologists and occupational therapists. The pilot program focused on caregiver training and improvements in targeted feeding goals in both the clinic and home settings. Treatment outcomes from this pilot program found increases in bite acceptance, decreases in inappropriate mealtime behaviors, increases in caregiver-reported number of foods consumed, and mastery of most individualized feeding goals for children who participated in the treatment program. Additionally, caregivers reported decreased concerns related to feeding and increased confidence in addressing their child's feeding concerns after participation in the treatment. Caregivers also reported high levels of satisfaction with this pilot program and reported the intervention to be feasible.

Maternal Feeding Beliefs and Behaviors Relate to Infant Diet and Appetite.

INTRODUCTION: Maternal feeding practices may be linked to infant obesogenic outcomes, but research to date has focused primarily on infant growth as an outcome of maternal feeding practices rather than exploring additional obesogenic outcomes like infant appetite and diet. Therefore, the current study examined the association between maternal feeding practices and beliefs and infant growth, diet, and appetite simultaneously at a critical timepoint for obesity risk development (i.e., 3-months-old). METHODS: Thirty-two 3-month-old infants and their mothers participated in this cross-sectional study. Infant anthropometrics were collected by trained staff and mothers completed questionnaires regarding maternal feeding practices and beliefs and infant diet and appetite. The data were analyzed by Spearman correlations. RESULTS: Statistically significant correlations were identified between maternal feeding practices (e.g., using food to calm, concern about infant weight) and infant satiety, appetite, food responsiveness, slow eating, and kilocalories consumed. Infant weight-for-length was related to maternal concern about infant underweight and mother-infant social interaction during feeding. DISCUSSION: These findings highlight the importance of the mother-infant feeding relationship and how these associations may influence responsive feeding practices and infant weight-related outcomes.