Overworked stressed out mothers are likely to forget quite a few things during their morning routine. Who among us has not forgotten a cup of coffee on the roof of their car or accidentally taken their child to school with no shoes on? It happens. But for mothers whose circumstances are more severe, such as depression or single parenthood, some frazzled mommy practices can result in an overfed baby.
MyHealthyDailyNews writes that researchers surveyed 254 low-income, primarily Latina mothers, asking them if they sometimes added cereal to their baby’s bottles to ensure longer sleepy time. Nearly a quarter confirmed that they did, but more importantly, researchers determined that mothers who suffered from depression were 15 times more likely to do so. And that compromises the health of the little one:
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends feeding babies exclusively with breast milk for the first six months of life, and advises breast-feeding continue until the baby is at least 1 year old. Putting cereal in bottles, rather than spoon-feeding it to a baby, may lead the child to consume more calories than he or she needs.
Dr. Candice Taylor Lucas of New York University School of Medicine said that because depression is so common in low-income mothers, it “makes it more difficult to engage in beneficial parenting practices in general.” But I’m certain that if these ladies weren’t worried about how to both care for their children and bring home enough money to feed them, low-income mommies could probably prioritize that calorie count.
(photo: melkerw/Shutterstock)
