Abstract
Background
Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (referred to hereafter as Aboriginal)
women breastfeed at lower rates than non-Aboriginal women, and rates vary across and
within Aboriginal populations.
Aim
To determine rates of breastfeeding initiation and maintenance and compare individually
collected survey data with existing routinely collected state and national breastfeeding
data for Aboriginal women.
Methods
CINAHL, Medline, EMBASE, SCOPUS, PsycINFO, and the Cochrane library were searched
for peer-reviewed literature published between 1995 and 2021. Quantitative studies
written in English and reporting breastfeeding for Aboriginal women or women having
an Aboriginal infant were included. Screening and quality assessment included co-screening
10% of papers. Two reviewers completed data extraction. A proportional meta-analysis
was undertaken for breastfeeding initiation and narrative data synthesis used to summarise
breastfeeding maintenance.
Findings
The initial search identified 12,091 records, with 31 full text studies retrieved,
and 27 reports from 22 studies met inclusion criteria. Breastfeeding initiation was
78% (95% CI 0.71, 0.84), however, rates were lower than non-Aboriginal women. Maintenance
ranged between one week and five years. Rates and definitions varied significantly
between studies, with inconsistencies in government collection and reporting of breastfeeding.
Conclusion
Significant variation in definitions and reporting make comparisons difficult. Breastfeeding
rates were below recommended targets. Future pattern and trend analyses require standardised
measures and definitions. Current collection and reporting of breastfeeding data,
particularly routinely collected state-based data, is inadequate to present an accurate
picture of current breastfeeding in Australia for Aboriginal women and infants, and
to effectively inform interventions and policies.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: March 11, 2022
Accepted:
February 24,
2022
Received in revised form:
January 31,
2022
Received:
October 20,
2021
Identification
Copyright
© 2022 Australian College of Midwives. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
