Frontiers in Nutrition · 7 authors, 2 centres
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This scoping review of 28 papers identified challenges to institutional breastfeeding practices across all six WHO health system building blocks in India during the COVID-19 pandemic, including mother-newborn separation, inadequate resources, and lack of guidelines.
A scoping review following PRISMA-ScR guidelines searched PubMed and Web of Science for literature published between December 2019 and April 2022, identifying 28 eligible papers on breastfeeding practices in Indian healthcare facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Challenges were categorized under WHO health system building blocks, with the most frequently affected areas being health service delivery (n=8 challenges), health workforce (n=5), and health management information system (n=5). Challenges in leadership and governance appeared in 11 of 28 documents (39.3%). Key bottlenecks included mother-newborn separation at birth, inadequate infection prevention resources, unavailability of standard guidelines, limited workforce, and extensive formula use. Solutions centered on timely issuance of guidelines, lactation support, training of health professionals, and telemedicine-based counseling. The review was limited to India-only literature and excluded post-discharge breastfeeding practices, and the WHO building blocks framework does not account for interdependencies between blocks or socio-cultural context.
