Educational models of infant and young child feeding among prenatal and postnatal women during the COVID-19 pandemic (January 2020-January 2023): A scoping review

Abstract

Infant and young children feeding (IYCF) practices, particularly for infants and young children <2 y old, became increasingly challenging during the COVID-19 pandemic. Several studies have discussed various educational models in the pre-pandemic period, most of which were conducted in person. The last reviews on IYCF interventions were conducted in 2020 and were relevant to pre-pandemic contexts. Thus, there is a need to review IYCF interventions to inform educational models adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to describe the IYCF educational models proposed during the COVID-19 pandemic. For this relevant literature, we searched PubMed, SCOPUS, EBSCO, ProQuest, Sage Journals, and Wiley Online Library. Thirty-five literature sources were screened, and 7 data sources were included for data extraction and analysis. Many studies on the IYCF educational models focused on exclusive breastfeeding and early initiation of breastfeeding; there was only one study on complementary feeding, and no research was found on continued breastfeeding. Four studies found no significant differences in the intervention given. Three studies had a significant effect, one had in-person meetings, and two consisted of WhatsApp discussions. Most IYCF educational models from the pandemic context comprised online education, whereas WhatsApp was the most popular media used. Future researchers may develop these findings to design research on a larger scale and for a longer period, especially on complementary feeding and continued breastfeeding based on IYCF indicators.

Keywords: COVID-19; Education; Infant and young children feeding; Nutrition model.