title: Postdischarge Feeding Interactions and Neurodevelopmental Outcome at 1-Year Corrected Gestational Age.
abstract: To determine the extent to which postdischarge feeding behaviors and interactions among caregiver-preterm infant dyads are associated with infant neurodevelopment at 1-year corrected gestational age (CGA).
  
  
  
  We studied 119 preterm infants born <34 weeks gestation and <1750 g at birth, and their caregivers, enrolled in the Collaborative Home Infant Monitoring Evaluation with in-person feeding assessments according to the Nursing Child Assessment Feeding Scale (NCAFS) at 39-59 weeks postmenstrual age that completed Bayley Scales of Infant Development, Second Edition testing at 1 year CGA.
  
  
  
  Mean ± SD gestational age was 29.6 ± 2.4 weeks, and birth weight was 1260 ± 320 g. After adjustment for maternal and infant demographics, gestational age at birth, discharge and birth weight, mode of infant feeding, and caregiver type during the postdischarge NCAFS assessment, overall NCAFS scores were positively associated with higher 1-year CGA Bayley mental developmental index (MDI) scores (for each 1 SD increase in overall NCAFS score, MDI increased by 2.8 [95% CI 0.7, 4.9] points). Among individual NCAFS domains, strongest effects were seen for caregiver responsiveness to infant distress, such that, compared with dyads having domain scores of 11 (highest possible score), the adjusted mean difference in MDI was 8.3 points (95% CI -15.2, -1.4) lower among dyads with scores <9.
  
  
  
  Caregiver-preterm infant feeding interaction and caregiver responsiveness to preterm infant feeding distress were associated with preterm infant Bayley MDI at 1-year CGA. Caregiver-infant feeding interaction may represent a modifiable factor to improve the neurodevelopment of at-risk preterm infants.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA. Electronic address: margaret.parker@bmc.org.
authors.forename: Margaret G K
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Parker
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Denis V
authors.initials: DV
authors.lastname: Rybin
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Timothy C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Heeren
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC.
authors.forename: Suzanne M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Thoyre
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA; Slone Epidemiology Center at Boston University, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Corwin
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002657:Child Development; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007224:Infant Care; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight; D008297:Male; D008423:Maternal Age; D065886:Neurodevelopmental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: feeding behaviors; feeding difficulties; feeding styles; maternal-infant interaction