Maternal sensitivity and contingent responsiveness to infant behavioral cues is an important contributor to infants' developing capacities to self-regulate. During early infancy, feeding interactions comprise a significant portion of mother-infant dyadic interactions and high-quality feeding interactions provide both nutritive and socioemotional benefits; recent data suggest that, for many dyads, mothers' sensitive responsiveness during feeding interactions is routinely impacted by the omnipresence of portable technology. The objective of the proposed research is to better understand the development and possible impacts of maternal technology use on infant feeding interactions, emotion and intake regulation, and sociobehavioral and growth outcomes.
18 years of age or older
In 3rd trimester of singleton pregnancy
History of healthy, low-risk pregnancy
Lives within 50 miles of the Cal Poly campus
Mother has an untreated medical or psychiatric condition (e.g. bipolar disorder) that could impede study participation or affect mother-infant interaction
Mother is participating in another interventional study that influences parenting, mother-infant interactions, feeding practices, or technology use
The mother is unwilling or unable to commit to longitudinal follow-ups of herself or her child
Infant was born preterm (gestational age <37 weeks)
Crossover
Technology Use during Feeding Conditions
BehavioralAt 1 month and 4 months, mother-infant dyads will be observed during 3 different feeding conditions counterbalanced across 3 days, with a 1-day wash-out period between conditions: TV Use condition: mothers will be asked to watch a 22-minute long TV show on a large tablet while they feed their infants. Mothers will choose from four preselected episodes of popular sitcoms. Mobile Device Use condition: mothers will be asked to use their mobile device in a way they find relaxing and pleasurable. Control condition: mothers will be asked to feed their infant in a room free of all potential technological distractions. During all conditions, mothers will feed their infants their typical milk (breast milk or formula) from their typical mode (breast or bottle).
6
Treatment groupsSee each treatment group below.
Change between infant age 1 month and 4 months for effects of TV and Mobile Devices on Maternal Sensitivity to Infant Cues during Feeding
When infants are 1 month and 4 months of age, mother-infant dyads will be observed during 3 within-subject experimental feeding conditions: TV Use, Mobile Device Use, or Control. Videos of feeding interactions will be later coded using the Nursing Child Assessment Parent-Child Interaction Feeding Scale (NCAFS). Possible score range for the Maternal Sensitivity to Infant Cues subscale is 0-16 with higher scores representing greater maternal sensitivity to infant cues.
Change between infant age 1 month and 4 months for effects of TV and Mobile Devices on Maternal Socioemotional Growth Fostering during Feeding
When infants are 1 month and 4 months of age, mother-infant dyads will be observed during 3 within-subject experimental feeding conditions: TV Use, Mobile Device Use, or Control. Videos of feeding interactions will be later coded using the Nursing Child Assessment Parent-Child Interaction Feeding Scale (NCAFS). Possible score range for the Maternal Socioemotional Growth Fostering subscale is 0-14 with higher scores representing greater maternal socioemotional growth fostering.
Change between infant age 1 month and 4 months for effects of TV and Mobile Devices on Maternal Cognitive Growth Fostering during Feeding
When infants are 1 month and 4 months of age, mother-infant dyads will be observed during 3 within-subject experimental feeding conditions: TV Use, Mobile Device Use, or Control. Videos of feeding interactions will be later coded using the Nursing Child Assessment Parent-Child Interaction Feeding Scale (NCAFS). Possible score range for the Maternal Cognitive Growth Fostering subscale is 0-9 with higher scores representing greater maternal cognitive growth fostering.
Change between infant age 1 month and 4 months for effects of TV and Mobile Devices on Maternal Attentiveness to the Infant during Feeding
When infants are 1 month and 4 months of age, mother-infant dyads will be observed during 3 within-subject experimental feeding conditions: TV Use, Mobile Device Use, or Control. Videos of feeding interactions will be later coded to determine the percentage of time the mother spent looking at the device versus her infant, with greater percent time spent looking at the infant representing greater maternal attentiveness to the infant.
Maternal habitual technology use
At every assessment, mothers' daily technology use patterns will be assessed by passive sensing of their mobile devices (e.g., smartphone, tablet) via an app (RescueTime) installed on the mother's mobile device(s). The app will assess amount of device use in a continuous fashion across 5 consecutive days. Mothers will also keep daily time-use diaries that will be linked with passive sensing data to determine, at each postnatal time point, (a) the average amount of time mothers were on their device while with their infant divided by the total amount of time mothers were with their infant and also (b) the average amount of time on a device during infant feeding divided by the total amount of time spent in feeding. These are calculated as proportions to control for how some mothers may be with their infant more on a daily basis than other mothers.
Click on the lead sponsor to view all of their trials.
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
Lead sponsor
University of Michigan
Collaborator
Parkview Health
Collaborator
