Document Type : Systematic Review
Authors
1
PhD Student of Reproductive Health, Student Research Committee, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
2
a) Assistant Professor, Nursing and Midwifery Care Research Centre, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran b) Department of Midwifery, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Mashhad University Medical of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
3
a) Professor, Nursing and Midwifery Care Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran b) Department of Midwifery, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
4
Assistant Professor, Nursing and Midwifery Care Research Centre, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
Abstract
Background & aim: Worldwide, exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) is considered the healthiest option for infant feeding. Providing informational support to mothers is crucial for informed breastfeeding decision-making and continued practice, as the rate of exclusive breastfeeding has globally declined. This review aimed to systematically synthesize existing evidence on mothers’ informational support needs to identify gaps and improve support strategies.
Methods: This meta-synthesis of qualitative studies was conducted based on meta-aggregative qualitative synthesis. The search strategy encompassed English articles indexed in PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, ProQuest, Google Scholar, as well as the Persian articles indexed in SID, and Magiran. No time restriction was applied up to April 2025. Eligible studies were full-text qualitative articles focused on informational support needs among breastfeeding women. Exclusion criteria included unavailable full texts, review articles, letters to editor, conference papers, case reports, quantitative studies, duplicates, and articles with unresponsive authors, and incomplete or irrelevant data. The quality of the published studies was evaluated using the JBI checklist.
Results: This meta-synthesis included ten eligible studies. The review process created 27 subcategories, which were grouped into 20 categories. From these categories four synthesized themes emerged: the need for breastfeeding informative topics, the need for effective strategies for providing information, the need for genuine breastfeeding practice, and the need for sources of information.
Conclusion: These findings emphasize the need for healthcare policies that provide personalized, timely, and culturally appropriate breastfeeding information so that mothers can make informed decisions and continue breastfeeding.
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