The impact of Baby Friendly Initiative accreditation: An overview of systematic reviews

Despite its reported benefits, breastfeeding rates are low globally, and support systems such as the Baby Friendly Initiative (BFI) have been established to support healthy infant feeding practices and infant bonding. Increasingly reviews are being undertaken to assess the overall impact of BFI accreditation. A systematic synthesis of current reviews has therefore been carried out to examine the state of literature on the effects of BFI accreditation. A systematic search of CINAHL, MEDLINE, Maternal and Infant Health, Scopus, the Cochrane Library and PROSPERO was undertaken. Study selection, data extraction and critical appraisal of included reviews using the AMSTAR-2 tool were undertaken by two authors, with disagreements resolved through discussion with the third author. Due to heterogeneity, a narrative synthesis of findings was applied. Fourteen reviews met the inclusion criteria. Overall confidence in the results of the review was rated as high for three reviews, low for two reviews and critically low for nine reviews. Most evidence suggests some increase in breastfeeding initiation, exclusivity and duration of breastfeeding, and one main trial suggests decreased gastrointestinal infection and allergic dermatitis in infants. However, overall certainty in the evidence was rated as very low across all outcomes due to concerns over risk of bias within and heterogeneity between the original studies. More contemporary, good-quality randomised controlled trials or well-controlled prospective comparative cohorts are required to better evaluate the impact of full BFI accreditation, with particular attention paid to the context of the research and to long-term maternal and infant health outcomes.

Automated summary

Despite reported benefits, breastfeeding rates are low globally, prompting the establishment of support systems like the Baby Friendly Initiative (BFI) to promote healthy infant feeding practices. Reviews on the impact of BFI accreditation show some increase in breastfeeding initiation, exclusivity and duration, with evidence of decreased gastrointestinal infections and allergic dermatitis in infants. However, overall confidence in the evidence remains very low due to concerns over risk of bias and study heterogeneity. More high-quality studies are needed to better evaluate the long-term impact of full BFI accreditation on maternal and infant health outcomes.