Factors Associated with Breastfeeding: A Review Study

Nowadays, the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding are evident to anyone, however the decision of a mother to feed her baby depends on many factors. Identifying these factors will enable healthcare organizations to raise the breastfeeding rates in different areas at an acceptable level by investing in them.  This review study is conducted with the aim of investing factors associated with exclusive breastfeeding. 

In this review, 71 articles from Persian and English scientific bases were studied to identify the factors associated with exclusive breastfeeding.

In this review, 39 factors were gathered in five dimensions: Individual and demographic factors, factors related to pregnancy and childbirth, factors related to the child's condition, cognitive-perceptual factors, and behavioral factors.
Given the findings, almost all studies confirmed the positive and significant impact of mother's knowledge on exclusive breastfeeding. Additionally, the positive impact of the education level of family, mother's perceived social support and attitude, and vaginal delivery was reported in most studies.

The results of this study can be used by all researchers who want to study the relationship between these factors and the exclusive breastfeeding.