Start Date: March 2019

ID #: 76392

Principal Investigator: Shannon Whaley, PhD

Organization: Public Health Foundation Enterprises, Inc. dba Heluna Health

Funding Round: Round 11

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Bottle-fed infants are at significantly greater risk for overfeeding and rapid weight gain (RWG), yet few studies focus on promoting healthy feeding practices for bottle-feeding caregivers. Bottle-feeding caregivers receive little support related to learning appropriate bottle-feeding practices, and this problem is pronounced in low-income, minority populations at higher risk for bottle-feeding, use of unhealthy feeding practices, and obesity. One of the best ways to reach low-income, minority, bottle-feeding caregivers is through the WIC program. Currently, bottle-feeding mothers within WIC are not receiving the support they need to learn healthy bottle-feeding practices. Practical, policy-relevant research is needed to address this critical gap in research and practice.Specific aims of this study are to 1) develop, implement, and evaluate PSE strategies to promote responsive bottle-feeding practices among WIC mothers, with the ultimate goal of moderating risk for RWG and obesity among WIC infants; and 2) examine the impact of PSE strategies on WIC program retention at 12 months of age.

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