Knowledge, attitudes and practices of grandmothers related to breastfeeding: a meta-synthesis.
Bárbara Helena de Brito Angelo, Cleide Maria Pontes, Gabriela Cunha Schechtman Sette and 1 others
PMID 32074204WHAT IT FOUND
Grandmothers often shaped breastfeeding both ways.
They supported mothers with advice, household help and positive beliefs about breast milk, but also encouraged early water, porridge or tea, discarding colostrum and using harmful breast care.
Key findings
01Grandmothers supported breastfeeding by sharing positive beliefs about breast milk, giving postpartum help with household and child care, and passing on practical feeding advice.
02Grandmothers also discouraged exclusive breastfeeding by recommending water, teas, porridge, formula or other foods before six months, often when they thought the baby was hungry or the mother needed rest.
03Some grandmother advice about breast complications and colostrum was harmful: they recommended alcohol, warm compresses, ointments, massage or milk extraction, and said colostrum should be discarded.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
This is a qualitative synthesis of beliefs and practices, not evidence that any intervention works. Only nine included studies were analysed, and the search may not have found every relevant study. An article could not be obtained in full text, and the authors could not access full participant transcripts from the primary studies. Participants were mothers, grandmothers and fathers in different countries and cultures, so findings may not apply to every family. Some studies did not describe the data collection technique or the theory guiding them, and recall bias was possible.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as proof that educating grandmothers increases breastfeeding rates. The paper reports what grandmothers believed and did, not a tested intervention outcome.