Sucking pattern |
Sucking burst | Mean duration (s) of sucking bursts defined as continuous sucking without a pause >2 s |
Interburst interval | Mean duration (s) between sucking bursts (>2 s pause between sucks) while the nipple was in the infant’s mouth |
Proportion sucking | Proportion of the feeding session during which infant was sucking |
Bursts per minute | Number of sucking bursts per minute |
Infant behaviour |
Problems | Frequency of feeding problems. Summed proportion (adjusted for length of feed and multiplied by 100) of refusal and rejection of the nipple, dribbling milk, hiccoughs, spitting up, and coughs |
Crying | Frequency of crying (continuous cries were coded every 2 s). Proportion of the session (multiplied by 100) when infant was crying |
Competence | Average of three nine-point scales: appropriateness of state for feeding, ease of feeding, and infant’s responsiveness (α = 0.62). High scores indicate greater competence |
Arousal | Predominant state or level of arousal of the infant rating scale along a four-point scale: sleeping, drowsy, alert, fussy/crying (state definitions of the Brazelton scale) |
Maternal behaviour |
Activity | Frequency of maternal feeding activity. Summed proportion (adjusted for length of feed and multiplied by 100) of stimulates rooting, inserts nipple, stimulates sucking with the bottle, removes nipple, burps infant, wipes mouth, jiggles the infant, repositions the infant, and checks amount taken |
Stimulation | Frequency of maternal stimulation or interactive behaviour. Summed proportion (adjusted for length of feed and multiplied by 100) of vocalisations, and stroking/caressing and kissing the infant |
Engagement | Rating of level of engagement with her infant. Average of four nine-point scales including quality of attentiveness, quality of physical contact, delight in baby, and quality of vocalisation (α = 0.79). High scores indicate greater engagement |
Flexibility | Rating of maternal flexibility to infants’ feeding cues. Average of three nine-point scales including determination of amount, degree of confidence, and appropriateness of behaviour (α = 0.69). High scores indicate greater flexibility/low scores indicate more maternal control of the feeding session |
Session | Duration (s) of coded feeding session up to 15 minutes |