Preterm infants are at an increased risk of nutritional problems during the newborn period and early childhood. Long-term nutritional problems contribute to imbalanced food intake and development abnormalities, as well as being a major cause of mental stress for the family. The purpose of this study is to look at the eating habits of late and moderately preterm (LMPT) babies at the age of two, as well as the relationship between these habits and their mothers’ mental health. Group 1 consisted of LMPT children born between 32 and 36 + 6 weeks of gestation, whereas Group 2 consisted of term infants born between 37 and 41 + 6 weeks of gestation. The Children’s Nutrition Difficulties Questionnaire and the 21-item Depression Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS 21) were used to assess the nutritional status of babies and mothers. Groups 1 and 2 were made up of 79 LMPT newborns and 38 term infants, respectively. Late and moderately preterm babies were shown to have lower drive-to-eat, food repertory, hunger, and food pleasure ratings than term infants. Pickiness and food aversion were observed to be more prevalent in LMPT newborns than in term infants. The moms of the LMPT infants had higher DASS-21 scores than the term infants.
These data show that around the age of two years, LMPT infants have greater nutritional problems than term infants, and their moms experience more emotional discomfort than term newborn mothers.
