Relations Between Diets of Breastfeeding Women, Socioeconomic Status and Stress

Abstract

The objective of this study was to describe the relation between parenting stress and the dietary intakes of 84 women breastfeeding 3-month-old infants. The design is cross-sectional and participants are located in a rural Oklahoma community; surveys include the NCI Diet History Questionnaire (DHQ) assessing kilocalories, protein, calcium, zinc and iron and the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (PSI) containing four different subscales, Difficult Child (DC), Parental Distress (PD), Parent-Child Dysfunctional Interaction (PCDI) and Defensive Responding (DR). Regression analysis showed no relation between diet, total stress and income. PCDI was negatively correlated to the nutrients of interest (kilocalories, protein, Ca, Zn, Fe) and DC was positively correlated to the nutrients of interest (kilocalories, protein, Ca, Zn, Fe). When PCDI stress is greater than DC stress, there is a decrease in dietary intake. When DC stress is greater than PCDI stress, there is an increase in dietary intake. Overall, dietary intake was not related to socioeconomic status factors, but was related to stress. Specifically, PCDI stress was negatively correlated to dietary intake and DC stress was positively correlated to dietary intake. This project was supported by National Research Initiative Grant 2008- 35200-18779 from the USDA National Institute for Food and Agriculture.