Early feeding problems: identification by parents and health care personnel

This study investigated the discrepancy between parental reports indicating a high prevalence of feeding problems during infancy and the relatively low identification rate of such cases at child health care centers. Thirty nurses were interviewed about definitions, prevalence, causes, and interventions for such problems. Thereafter, they were retrospectively asked about presence of feeding problems in 30 infants, for whom parents had reported existence of feeding problems, and in 30 control infants. A group ( n =22) based on parent-nurse agreement about the existence of a problem was compared with a group ( n = 8) identified as problematic by parents only and with the control group. The parent-nurse agreement group stood out as more burdened: infant growth was affected, there had been feeding history problems (breastfeeding, weaning and protracted meals) and the level of parental concern was higher. More infant respiratory infections were reported, and more medication had been prescribed for this group. Although nurses seemed to rely to a great extent on parental reports in identifying feeding problems, the present results suggested that the parent-nurse discrepancy in identification rate may occur due to nurses' weighting of parental complaints with other factors such as the child's general condition and the family social situation.