Objective. Examine parents’ motivations for parenting a 1-month-old infant with a complex congenital heart defect and the difference made by motivation classes for parent feeding behavior.
Methods. In 22 families recruited from a regional children’s heart center, 9 infants had hypoplastic left heart syndrome (high severity); 13 had lower severity defects. The primary caregiving parent, all but two who were mothers, were interviewed about parenting experience and about video-taped feeding interaction. Interviews were coded using directed content analysis to identify motivating forces. Ten Parent-Child Early Relationship Assessment scales were used to construct an adaptability variable, Parental Support, Attunement, and Warmth (warm tone of voice, positive affect, lack of withdrawn/depressed mood, quantity of visual contact, quantity of verbal contact, structuring and mediating the environment, sensitive responsiveness, flexibility, predictability, and lack of intrusiveness).
Results. Motivating forces were classed as Caring for Baby (supporting development, protecting); Relating (to baby, family); Parenting Identity; Self-Maintaining (promoting, protecting self); and Doing the Needed. Scored high or low, these classes and heart defect severity, in latent cluster analysis, revealed two clusters undifferentiated by severity (see Figure 1). Cluster 1 parents more often identified Parenting Identity and Baby Care motivating forces, whereas Cluster 2 parents more often identified Doing the Needed as a motivating force. Cluster 2 showed higher scores, on average, on Parenting Support, Attunement, and Warmth and less variability than Cluster 1.
Conclusions. Motivating forces, but not heart defect severity, sorted parents into clusters that may predict feeding support, attunement, and warmth.