(P22-013-23) Breastfeeding Support Provided by Lactation Consultants for Improved Breastfeeding Rates, Self-Efficacy, and Infant Growth: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protoco

Objectives: It is well established that breast milk offers numerous health benefits for mother and child. The World Health Organization and others recommend exclusive breastfeeding until the child is 6 months of age, with continued breastfeeding up to 1-2 years of age or beyond. Yet, these recommendations are met less than half of the time in high-income countries. Lactation consultants specialize in supporting families with breastfeeding and are a promising approach to improving breastfeeding rates. For lactation consultant interventions to be implemented widely as part of public health policy, a better understanding of their effect on breastfeeding rates and important health outcomes is needed. The overall objective of this systematic review is to evaluate the effect of lactation consultant interventions provided to women, compared to usual care, on breastfeeding rates (primary outcome), breastfeeding self-efficacy, and infant growth.

Methods: A search strategy will be developed to identify randomized controlled trials published in any language between 1985 and February 2023 in CENTRAL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Scopus, and Web of Science. We will also perform a search of the grey literature and reference lists of relevant studies and reviews. Two reviewers will independently extract data on study design, baseline characteristics, details of the interventions employed, and primary and secondary outcomes using a pre-piloted standardized data extraction form. Risk of bias and quality of evidence assessment will be done independently and in duplicate using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool and GRADE approach, respectively. Where possible, meta-analysis using random-effects models will be performed, otherwise a qualitative summary will be provided. We will adhere to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. This review was registered in PROSPERO.

Results: Not applicable

Conclusions: This review will fill an important gap in the lactation support literature. The findings will be of importance to policymakers who seek to implement interventions to improve breastfeeding rates. 

Funding Sources: Canadian Institutes of Health Research