Maternal postpartum depression and responsive feeding in the first 2 years: A review

Abstract

Maternal postpartum depression can influence caregiving behaviors, including the ability to practice responsive feeding. Responsive feeding promotes children’s autonomy over their hunger and satiety and can lead to proper growth and development, whereas non-responsive feeding practices such as pressuring or controlling feeding tend to override children’s cues, instilling unfavourable behaviors and increasing the risk of overfeeding and altered growth. Responsive feeding may be especially important during the first two years, a crucial period of learning, growth, and development. This review summarizes current literature exploring the association between maternal postpartum depression and feeding behaviors among children aged 0–24 months. Twelve studies from the USA, Australia, China, India, the UK, and the Caribbean explored this relationship. The prevalence of postpartum depression varied widely, from 10 % to 60 % of participants. In general, maternal postpartum depression symptoms were associated with non-responsive feeding, particularly with pressuring or forceful feeding styles involving high control, but also with actions in contrast with public health recommendations such as adding cereal to bottles. Most studies employed the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) to screen for maternal postpartum depression, while there was a lack of consistency in tools used to assess feeding styles, highlighting the need for a more consistent definition and standardized tool in future research.