Enabling women to breastfeed: the evidence from systematic reviews

Professor Mary Renfrew
Mother and Infant Research Unit
University of Leeds

Breastfeeding is a fundamentally important public health issue, and recent policy changes in the UK and internationally support work towards increasing breastfeeding initiation rates, and encouraging exclusive breastfeeding for six months.

The problem is that in the UK breastfeeding rates are low, and lowest among families living in socially and materially deprived circumstances. Reasons for this are multifaceted, and involve psycho-social factors, continuation of practices in hospital that make breastfeeding difficult, and a lack of basic education among health professionals working in hospital and community settings. Lack of public support is a major issue.

This paper will summarise the results of a series of systematic reviews of clinical and health promotion interventions, examining ways of increasing breastfeeding initiation and duration, especially among families from low-income groups. Suggestions for coordinated action at national and local levels will be made, based on this evidence.