How baby emotions, feeding, and mother bonding grow together
Fundamental Biobehavioral Mechanisms Underlying the Integrated Development of Emotion, Attachment, and Nutritive Intake in the Mother-Infant Dyad
['FUNDING_R01'] · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · NIH-11293393
This project follows mothers and their babies to see how emotions, bonding, and feeding together affect children's eating, diet, and weight through age three.
Quick facts
| Phase | ['FUNDING_R01'] |
|---|---|
| Study type | Nih_funding |
| Sex | All |
| Sponsor | UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR (nih funded) |
| Locations | 1 site (ANN ARBOR, UNITED STATES) |
| Trial ID | NIH-11293393 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
What this research studies
If you join, researchers will enroll about 120 mother–baby pairs and meet at birth, 3 months, and 6 months to collect information. They will observe feeding interactions, use small tasks to see soothing versus feeding responses, and take samples to measure stress-related hormones and oxytocin. The team will track baby diet, maternal feeding behaviors, and child growth and body composition up to age 3. All of this will be used to understand how emotion, attachment, and feeding develop together and relate to early weight gain.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates are mothers with newborn infants who can participate in study visits at birth, 3 months, and 6 months and allow follow-up measurements through age three.
Not a fit: Families without young infants or those unable to attend repeated in-person visits are not likely to benefit from participating.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the findings could help parents and clinicians use better soothing and feeding practices to reduce early rapid weight gain and lower obesity risk.
How similar studies have performed: Previous research links using food to soothe with faster infant weight gain, but this integrated biobehavioral approach combining hormones, interaction observations, and growth tracking is novel.
Where this research is happening
ANN ARBOR, UNITED STATES
- UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR — ANN ARBOR, UNITED STATES (ACTIVE)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: LUMENG, JULIE C — UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR
- Study coordinator: LUMENG, JULIE C
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.