Facilitators and Barriers to Breastfeeding in Asian American Women: A Review of the Literature

Abstract

This review article summarizes the current literature on facilitators and barriers to breastfeeding in Asian American women and provides future research directions. PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, Web of Science, and PsycInfo databases were searched for original qualitative or quantitative studies published in English. Reviews and consensus statements were excluded. Findings were synthesized by configuration and a bottom-up approach to thematically formulate the findings. A vote-counting method was used to summarize the results across the studies selected. A total of eight studies were selected. The review included 222 Asian women living in the United States. Our review focused on three themes: (i) cultural and traditional practices that influence breastfeeding; (ii) facilitators to breastfeeding; and (iii) barriers to breastfeeding. This review highlighted several areas in need of further research in Asian American women who have an early cessation of breastfeeding and less access to breastfeeding support services. The differences in cultural beliefs among Asian women who have migrated from different countries indicated no singular belief system. A culturally sensitive and family-centered approach in addressing critical barriers and promoting key facilitators of breastfeeding in Asian American women is needed.