Information and Communication Systems to Tackle Barriers to Breastfeeding: Systematic Search and Review

Information and communication technology (ICT) has been leveraged to support breastfeeding by means of improving knowledge or providing practical supports in different maternal stages. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of existing digital interventions that support breastfeeding by investigating systems’ objective, technology design, validation process, and quality attributes, both in terms of clinical parameters as well as usability and user experience. The review concludes that existing information and communication systems offer effective means of improving breastfeeding outcomes, but they do not address all relevant periods in parenthood (eg, the antenatal period) and often do not involve important stakeholders, such as partners. It also identifies an opportunity to leverage more complex technical systems to open up avenues for the broader design of ICT to support breastfeeding.