Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Meta-Analysis
. 2005 Apr 18:(2):CD001688.
doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD001688.pub2.

Interventions for promoting the initiation of breastfeeding

L Dyson  1 , F McCormick, M J Renfrew
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Interventions for promoting the initiation of breastfeeding

L Dyson et al. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. .

Update in

  • Interventions for promoting the initiation of breastfeeding.
    Balogun OO, O'Sullivan EJ, McFadden A, Ota E, Gavine A, Garner CD, Renfrew MJ, MacGillivray S. Balogun OO, et al. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2016 Nov 9;11(11):CD001688. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD001688.pub3. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2016. PMID: 27827515 Free PMC article.

Abstract

Background: Despite the widely documented health benefits of breastfeeding, initiation rates remain relatively low in many high-income countries, particularly among women in lower income groups.

Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of interventions which aim to encourage women to breastfeed in terms of changes in the number of women who start to breastfeed.

Search strategy: We searched the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group trials register (30 May 2004), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (The Cochrane Library, Issue 1, 2003) and the following databases from inception to October 2002: MEDLINE, CINAHL, ERIC, Applied Social Sciences, PsychLIT, EMBASE, British Nursing Index, BIDS, EPI-centre. We also searched the following in October 2002 for 'grey literature: 'SIGLE, DHSS Data, and Dissertation Abstracts. We handsearched the Journal of Human Lactation, Health Promotion International and Health Education Quarterly from inception to October 1998. We scanned reference lists of all articles obtained.

Selection criteria: Randomised controlled trials, with or without blinding, of any breastfeeding promotion intervention in any population group except women and infants with a specific health problem.

Data collection and analysis: One review author independently extracted data and assessed trial quality for checking by a second author. We contacted investigators to obtain missing information.

Main results: Seven trials involving 1388 women were included. Five trials involving 582 women on low incomes in the USA showed breastfeeding education had a significant effect on increasing initiation rates compared to routine care (relative risk (RR) 1.53, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.25 to 1.88).

Authors' conclusions: Evidence from this review shows that the forms of breastfeeding education evaluated were effective at increasing breastfeeding initiation rates among women on low incomes in the USA.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in