Feeding Patterns and Parental Perceptions of Feeding Issues of Preterm Infants in the First 2 Years of Life.

We explored parental feeding practices, feeding issues during the first 2 yr of life, and the relationship between feeding issues and levels of maternal distress in preterm infants. Four hundred twenty mothers (239 with preterm infants, 181 with full-term infants) participated in the study. The Behavior-Based Feeding Questionnaire for Infants With Premature History and the Parenting Stress Index-Chinese Version were used as the two outcome measures. The results indicated that preterm infants had different feeding experiences compared with their full-term counterparts. They tended to start solid food later in life and had limited experiences in food variation. Parenting stress was prevalent in parents with preterm infants and was associated with the frequency of feeding issues, especially at later ages when supplementary foods were being introduced.