Effectiveness of interventions on early initiation of breastfeeding in South Asia: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Rifat, M. A. ; Chakrabarty, Mahashweta ; Saima Alam, Syeda ; Ali, Masum ; Sumaiya Nasrin, Syeda ; Sarkar, Plabon ; Singh, Aditya and Saha, Sanjib LU
(2025)
In International Breastfeeding Journal
20.
p.1-16
- Abstract
- Background
Early initiation of breastfeeding, defined as breastfeeding within one hour of birth, halves the risk of neonatal mortality, establishing it as a crucial outcome component in various interventions implemented across South Asian countries. However, the overall effect of these interventions remain unexamined. Therefore, this study seeks to address this knowledge gap by evaluating the overall effect of these interventions on maternal early initiation of breastfeeding practice.
Methods
A systematic literature search was performed to identify randomised controlled trials conducted in South Asia focusing on early initiation of breastfeeding as an outcome variable. The interventions identified were categorized into... (More) - Background
Early initiation of breastfeeding, defined as breastfeeding within one hour of birth, halves the risk of neonatal mortality, establishing it as a crucial outcome component in various interventions implemented across South Asian countries. However, the overall effect of these interventions remain unexamined. Therefore, this study seeks to address this knowledge gap by evaluating the overall effect of these interventions on maternal early initiation of breastfeeding practice.
Methods
A systematic literature search was performed to identify randomised controlled trials conducted in South Asia focusing on early initiation of breastfeeding as an outcome variable. The interventions identified were categorized into behavioral, mobile health (mHealth), health system strengthening, and nutritional interventions. Random effects meta-analysis was conducted to estimate the pooled effect of interventions and effectiveness by intervention categories. Heterogeneity was explored by sub-group and meta-regression analyses. The risk of bias and strength of evidence were assessed by Cochrane’s RoB2 assessment tool and GRADE criteria, respectively.
Results
We included 22 articles published, representing 19 unique interventions, from a pool of 2,524 screened records for review and narrative synthesis. Among these, 19 articles were eligible for meta-analysis. The pooled relative risk (RR) of early initiation of breastfeeding among mothers in the intervention groups, as compared to their counterparts, was 1.55 (95% CI: 1.24, 1.95; I2 = 99.56; p < 0.001). Interventions targeted health system strengthening represented stronger effect than other types of interventions. The overall strength of evidence was moderate.
Conclusion
The overall intervention effect appeared efficacious in improving maternal early initiation of breastfeeding practice in South Asia, providing valuable insights for policymakers to develop contextually feasible strategies. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/f6cd5eab-4bd3-43b6-8113-49fc2e80e835
- author
- Rifat, M. A.
; Chakrabarty, Mahashweta
; Saima Alam, Syeda
; Ali, Masum
; Sumaiya Nasrin, Syeda
; Sarkar, Plabon
; Singh, Aditya
and Saha, Sanjib
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2025-05-27
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- in
- International Breastfeeding Journal
- volume
- 20
- article number
- 43
- pages
- 1 - 16
- publisher
- BioMed Central (BMC)
- external identifiers
-
- pmid:40426155
- ISSN
- 1746-4358
- DOI
- 10.1186/s13006-025-00736-2
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- f6cd5eab-4bd3-43b6-8113-49fc2e80e835
- date added to LUP
- 2025-05-28 07:53:13
- date last changed
- 2025-05-29 03:00:06
@article{f6cd5eab-4bd3-43b6-8113-49fc2e80e835,
abstract = {{Background<br/>Early initiation of breastfeeding, defined as breastfeeding within one hour of birth, halves the risk of neonatal mortality, establishing it as a crucial outcome component in various interventions implemented across South Asian countries. However, the overall effect of these interventions remain unexamined. Therefore, this study seeks to address this knowledge gap by evaluating the overall effect of these interventions on maternal early initiation of breastfeeding practice.<br/><br/>Methods<br/>A systematic literature search was performed to identify randomised controlled trials conducted in South Asia focusing on early initiation of breastfeeding as an outcome variable. The interventions identified were categorized into behavioral, mobile health (mHealth), health system strengthening, and nutritional interventions. Random effects meta-analysis was conducted to estimate the pooled effect of interventions and effectiveness by intervention categories. Heterogeneity was explored by sub-group and meta-regression analyses. The risk of bias and strength of evidence were assessed by Cochrane’s RoB2 assessment tool and GRADE criteria, respectively.<br/><br/>Results<br/>We included 22 articles published, representing 19 unique interventions, from a pool of 2,524 screened records for review and narrative synthesis. Among these, 19 articles were eligible for meta-analysis. The pooled relative risk (RR) of early initiation of breastfeeding among mothers in the intervention groups, as compared to their counterparts, was 1.55 (95% CI: 1.24, 1.95; I2 = 99.56; p < 0.001). Interventions targeted health system strengthening represented stronger effect than other types of interventions. The overall strength of evidence was moderate.<br/><br/>Conclusion<br/>The overall intervention effect appeared efficacious in improving maternal early initiation of breastfeeding practice in South Asia, providing valuable insights for policymakers to develop contextually feasible strategies.}},
author = {{Rifat, M. A. and Chakrabarty, Mahashweta and Saima Alam, Syeda and Ali, Masum and Sumaiya Nasrin, Syeda and Sarkar, Plabon and Singh, Aditya and Saha, Sanjib}},
issn = {{1746-4358}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{05}},
pages = {{1--16}},
publisher = {{BioMed Central (BMC)}},
series = {{International Breastfeeding Journal}},
title = {{Effectiveness of interventions on early initiation of breastfeeding in South Asia: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13006-025-00736-2}},
doi = {{10.1186/s13006-025-00736-2}},
volume = {{20}},
year = {{2025}},
}