Awareness and Support of Responsive Bottle Feeding Among WIC Counselors and Caregivers: A Formative Qualitative Study

Objective To understand the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) counselor experiences discussing responsive bottle feeding during counseling and WIC participants’ knowledge, understanding, and use of responsive bottle feeding. Methods Qualitative descriptive, semistructured interviews with 23 participants (8 WIC counselors and 15 WIC participants) were conducted online via Zoom. The WIC counselors and mothers of WIC-enrolled bottle-fed infants were recruited through a network of WIC clinics in North Carolina. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and collaboratively analyzed using content analysis. Results The WIC participants received responsive infant feeding support from WIC counselors but often in the context of breastfeeding. WIC counselors provided valuable support for families but were challenged by limited training on responsive bottle feeding, balancing promoting breastfeeding with supporting mothers’ feeding decisions, and time constraints. Conclusions and Implications Findings provide preliminary support for the need to develop and pilot an intervention focused on promoting responsive feeding for parents of bottle-fed infants.