Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30867180›Full record

ArticleCanadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien2019

"Something is wrong with your milk": Qualitative study of maternal dietary restriction and beliefs about infant colic.

Monica Kidd, Melanie Hnatiuk, Jocelyn Barber, Mary-Jo Woolgar, Maria Palacios Mackay

Abstract readMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Article in Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
8.0field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 25 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Nurturing Bonds: A Qualitative Exploration of Breastfeeding and Responsive Feeding Practices in Samoan Mother-Infants Dyads.American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council · 2026
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Provider recommendations and maternal practices when providing breast milk to children with immunoglobulin E-mediated food allergy.Annals of allergy, asthma & immunology : official publication of the American College of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology · 2021
    Article
  8. Article
  9. Observational
  10. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.

Monica KiddFamily physician whose scope of practice includes intrapartum care in Calgary, Alta. mgkidd@ucalgary.ca.
Melanie HnatiukFamily physician in Calgary.
Jocelyn BarberFamily medicine resident at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon.
Mary-Jo WoolgarFamily physician and lactation consultant in Calgary.
Maria Palacios MackayAdjunct researcher at the University of Calgary and Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at Universidad San Sebastián in Chile.
College of Family Physicians of Canada · CAAltera (United States) · USSan Sebastián University · CLUniversity of Saskatchewan · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo investigate new mothers' perceptions about the role of maternal diet in infant fuss-cry behaviour, and to explore patterns of food restriction in breastfeeding women.

designQualitative study.

settingCalgary, Alta.

participantsTwenty-one mothers of healthy singleton infants aged 6 months and younger.

methodsFocus groups and one-on-one interviews with a semistructured interview guide, followed by content analysis. MAIN

findingsMost respondents believed that infant cry-fuss behaviour was related to abdominal pain linked to feeding and had eliminated items from their diet in an attempt to change infant behaviour. Typical targets of elimination were caffeine, cruciferous vegetables (eg, broccoli and cabbage), garlic and onions, spicy foods, gluten, and beans. Women commonly viewed elimination diets as an extension of neutral or benign choices made during pregnancy, even when it led to extreme diet restrictions. Participants reported feeling appraised by society for their infant-feeding choices, and often harshly judged. Many women reported feeling confused by conflicting sources of reliable information on breastfeeding and preferred advice from trusted friends and family to that from health care providers or the Internet.

conclusionThe breastfeeding women in this study believed that maternal diet influenced infant cry-fuss behaviour, in spite of scientific evidence demonstrating the contrary. An understandable desire for a calm baby, as well as to be favourably judged by friends and family, can drive breastfeeding women to restrict their diet, often to the point of hardship.

Indexed as

Breast FeedingHealth Knowledge, Attitudes, PracticeAdultColicCryingDietFemaleFocus GroupsHumansInfantInterviews as TopicMaternal Nutritional Physiological PhenomenaQualitative Research

Identifiers

PMID30867180
PMCPMC6515974
OpenAlexW2933157648

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.