AUTHOR=Mosli Rana H. , Barahim Alaa , Zahed Lina A. , Ishaq Sara A. , Al-Eryani Fatimah M. , Alharbi Warda A. , Kutbi Hebah A. , Saleemani Haneen 

TITLE=Changes in Feeding Behavior and Feeding Stress Among Mothers of Preschoolers Before and During the Novel Coronavirus Pandemic

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Nutrition

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2022.828557

DOI=10.3389/fnut.2022.828557

ISSN=2296-861X

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Objective</title><p>To examine changes in maternal feeding behaviors (MFB) and maternal feeding stress (MFS) among mothers of preschoolers in Saudi Arabia before and during the novel coronavirus pandemic.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>This is a prospective cohort study including 64 mothers of preschoolers who were drawn from a sample of a 2019 study. Study questionnaire was completed during November–December 2020. MFB were assessed using the Child Feeding Questionnaire-Arabic (CFQ-A) and MFS was assessed using the MFS-mealtimes index and the MFS-maternal resentment/difficult child index. Paired samples <italic>t</italic>-tests were used to examine changes in MFB and MFS.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>Mothers have reported an increase in perceived responsibility (<italic>M</italic> = 4.09, SD = 0.87 vs. <italic>M</italic> = 4.33, SD = 0.59, <italic>P</italic>-value &lt; 0.05) and monitoring (<italic>M</italic> = 4.23, SD = 0.73 vs. <italic>M</italic> = 4.48, SD = 0.66, <italic>P</italic>-value &lt; 0.05) during the pandemic period compared to the period prior to the pandemic. Mothers have reported a decrease in use of food as a reward (M = 4.11, SD = 0.87 vs. <italic>M</italic> = 2.30, SD = 0.88, <italic>P</italic>-value <bold>&lt;</bold> 0.001) and concern about child's diet (<italic>M</italic> = 3.34, SD = 1.12 vs. <italic>M</italic> = 2.55, SD = 1.04, <italic>P</italic>-value <bold>&lt;</bold>0.001). There was an increase in MFS-maternal resentment/difficult child (<italic>M</italic> = 2.47, SD = 0.68 vs. <italic>M</italic> = 2.71, SD = 0.72, <italic>P</italic>-value &lt; 0.01).</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusions</title><p>Findings can help inform future research aiming to measure the long-term effects of the pandemic on child outcomes.</p></sec>