Self-efficacy, infant feeding practices, and infant weight gain: An integrative review.
Jessica S Bahorski, Gwendolyn D Childs, Lori A Loan and 5 others
PMID 30071746WHAT IT FOUND
Mothers with higher breastfeeding self-efficacy initiate and sustain breastfeeding longer.
Interventions targeting this belief increase breastfeeding rates. Evidence for other feeding practices is limited but suggests higher self-efficacy aligns with healthier infant feeding choices.
Key findings
01Women with higher breastfeeding self-efficacy have higher rates of breastfeeding initiation and longer durations of exclusive breastfeeding.
02Interventions designed to increase breastfeeding self-efficacy generally resulted in higher rates of breastfeeding initiation or duration.
03Higher parental self-efficacy is associated with feeding practices that better align with recommendations, such as introducing complementary foods at six months.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The literature search was conducted by a single author, which may have missed relevant studies. The majority of included studies involved Caucasian populations, limiting generalizability to other racial and ethnic groups. Self-efficacy was measured inconsistently across studies (general, parental, breastfeeding-specific), making direct comparisons difficult. Few studies examined the association between self-efficacy and infant weight gain, and none followed cohorts beyond infancy to assess long-term growth outcomes. The review excluded studies on premature infants.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that interventions improving self-efficacy directly cause changes in infant weight gain. The evidence for a link between self-efficacy and weight outcomes is minimal and inconclusive, while the link to breastfeeding practices is strong.