Barriers to translating evidence-based breastfeeding information into practice

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Lactation Science
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Strong evidence supports breastfeeding's benefits for infants, mothers, and communities.
• Despite evidence, breastfeeding rates remain low, particularly post-hospital discharge.
• Gaps exist between established evidence and current clinical practice.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and discuss barriers to implementing evidence-based breastfeeding best practices.
• To analyze these barriers using the research-to-practice pipeline framework.
• To inform the development of effective breastfeeding interventions and programs.

Main Methods:

• Framework analysis of the research-to-practice pipeline (acceptance, applicable, available, able, acted upon, agreed to, adhered to).
• Discussion of evidence-to-practice gaps in breastfeeding.
• Identification of common barriers across the implementation pathway.

Main Results:

• Barriers to evidence-based breastfeeding practice implementation are prevalent and diverse.
• These obstacles can occur at any stage of the research-to-practice pathway.
• Current breastfeeding rates are unacceptably low, indicating implementation failures.

Conclusions:

• Barriers to evidence-based breastfeeding practices are common and wide-ranging.
• These barriers must be considered when developing new breastfeeding services and research programs.
• Multi-strategy interventions and collaborative care are crucial for improving breastfeeding rates.