Background: The World Health Organization recommends lactation support to enhance the rates of exclusive breastfeeding. Access to in person lactation support may be limited due to scarcity of resources (e.g., healthcare professionals) and geography. Advances in technology have allowed lactation supports to be offered virtually through information and communication technologies (i.e., telephone, internet, and social media).
Research aims: To (1) critically review and (2) statistically analyze the effectiveness of virtual lactation support for postpartum mothers' exclusive breastfeeding for up to 6 months.
Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted using PRISMA guidelines. Studies were included if they were (a) randomized controlled trials, (b) with a virtual lactation support intervention during the postpartum period, (c) reported on exclusive breastfeeding outcomes. Two reviewers independently assessed the risk of bias and extracted data. The prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding in each group and the total number of participants randomized for each group were entered into random-effects meta-analyses to calculate a pooled relative risk (RR) at three different time points (1, 4, and 6 months). The sample size was 19 randomized control trials.
Results: Of the 19 studies, 16 (84.2%) were included in the meta-analysis (n = 5,254). Virtual lactation support was found to be effective at increasing exclusive breastfeeding at 1 month (RR, 1.21; 95% CI [1.09, 1.35]; p < .001) and 6 months (RR, 1.87; 95% CI [1.30, 2.68]; p < .001).
Conclusion: In this meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials comparing virtual lactation support with other postnatal maternity care, virtual lactation support was associated with increasing exclusive breastfeeding rates at 1 month and 6 months postpartum.The study protocol was registered (CRD42021256433) with PROSPERO.
Keywords: breastfeeding; breastfeeding support; exclusive breastfeeding; lactation; meta-analysis; systematic reviews; tele-lactation; virtual health care.