Breastfeeding and Health Outcomes: A Narrative Review

Abstract

Introduction: India is home to a large number of under-five deaths and underweight children in the world, which is mainly because of improper breastfeeding practices. Breastfeeding is one of the most effective ways to ensure child health and survival. Lack of exclusive breastfeeding during the first 6 months of life contributes to over a million avoidable child deaths each year. Materials and methods: An extensive search of all materials related to the topic was carried out in PubMed, Medline, World Health Organization website, and Google Scholar search engines. Keywords used in the search included breastfeeding, colostrum, and infant. Overall, 30 articles were selected and analyzed. Results: Parameters like educational status, socioeconomic status, occupation, mode of delivery, the place of delivery, and exclusive breastfeeding had a significant impact on the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding. Conclusion:The study participants had good knowledge about breastfeeding however, some gaps were observed with respect to their practices. The study concluded that the importance of increasing awareness among pregnant women about breastfeeding, and even gave impetus on the necessity of family support to aid mothers in showing adherence to the breastfeeding for the recommended duration.