It is important for the authors to understand the cultural norms that are involved in many low income households regardless of depression. Conducting surveys without this fundamental consideration can lead to flawed or incomplete conclusions. A fat baby is considered a healthy baby by many and mothers will do whatever it takes to make sure their babies are "fat and healthy"; be it adding cereals to formulas or supplementing breastfeeding when the milk supply is sufficient. Until mothers and caregivers are made to understand that a fat baby who is fat due to overfeeding is not necessarily healthy this practice will not change regardless of the mothers' mental health status. I would be interested in knowing if any question was asked about cultural beliefs and norms about infant feeding practices and what makes a healthy baby and if the responses were controlled for in the analyses. There is much more going on than just depression and these should be considered as possible confounding factors.
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Carol White of ME 10:31AM April 30, 2012