Thematic analysis showed that mothers tend to assume that breastfeeding will be easy and find it difficult to cope with breastfeeding challenges. In total, 59 papers were included in the review. A literature extraction tool and thematic analysis were used to code and analyze the data. After removing duplicates, papers published in 2010–2020 in English were screened for eligibility.
PubMed, CINAHL, Sociological Abstracts, and PsychInfo databases were searched utilizing a predetermined string of keywords. This paper uses a scoping review methodology developed by Arksey and O’Malley. The overall goal of this research is to identify what barriers mothers face when attempting to breastfeed and what supports they need to guide their breastfeeding choices.
This research explores existing empirical literature regarding women’s perceptions about and experiences with breastfeeding. While the literature exploring breastfeeding beliefs and practices is growing, it offers various and sometimes conflicting explanations regarding women’s attitudes towards and experiences of breastfeeding. Despite public health efforts to promote breastfeeding, global rates of breastfeeding continue to trail behind the goals identified by the World Health Organization.
