A meta-synthesis of women’s perceptions and experiences of breastfeeding support

Virginia Schmied, Sarah Beake, Athena Sheehan, Christine McCourt, Fiona Dykes

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Breastfeeding conveys significant health benefits to infants and mothers yet in many affluent nations breastfeeding rates continue to decline across the early months following birth. Both peer and professional support have been identified as important to the success of breastfeeding. What is not known are the key components or elements of support that are effective in increasing the duration of breastfeeding? The aim of this meta-synthesis was to examine women’s perceptions and experiences of breastfeeding support, either professional or peer, in order to illuminate the components of support that they deem ‘supportive’. A secondary aim was to describe any differences between components of Peer and Professional support.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)583-614
Number of pages31
JournalJBI Library of Systematic Reviews
Volume7
Issue number14
Publication statusPublished - 2009

Keywords

  • breastfeeding
  • support
  • experiences
  • perceptions

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