Relationships among feeding method, maternal behavior during feeding, and mother-infant bonding at 1 year postpartum: the Japan Environment and Children's Study.

We investigated how feeding methods and maternal behaviors during feeding influence mother-infant bonding at 1 year postpartum using data from 80,394 mother-child pairs in the Japan Environment and Children's Study. Bonding, feeding methods, maternal behaviors during feeding, and covariates were obtained from questionnaires and medical records. Modified Poisson regression estimated associations between feeding-related factors and bonding outcomes. At 1 year postpartum, 11.0% (n = 8,822) of mothers showed poor bonding. Mothers who talked to and looked at their child during feeding had a lower risk of poor bonding (adjusted risk ratio: 0.79; absolute risk reduction: 2.6%) than those engaged in other activities. Breastfeeding was associated with a borderline reduction in risk (0.91) compared to formula feeding. The lowest risk was observed among mothers who both breastfed and interacted with their child (0.72; absolute risk reduction: 3.5%). These findings suggest that interaction during feeding may reduce poor bonding and enhance potential benefits of breastfeeding.