Table 2.
Characteristics of included studies
| Author and year | Study location and year of data collection | Sample | Study design | Outcomes measured/explored | Quality assessment summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brick & Nolan, 2014 |
Republic of Ireland 2004–2010 |
230,750 healthy term babies (number of Africans and country of origin not specified) | Cohort | Determinants of breastfeeding at hospital discharge with a particular focus on maternal country of birth, and the extent to which this is due to maternal characteristics | Good |
| Bulk‐Bunschoten et al., 2008 |
Netherlands 1998 |
4,438 mothers (135 Moroccans). | Survey | Reasons for discontinuing breastfeeding. | Fair, sampling strategy not clearly defined. |
| Busck‐Rasmussen et al., 2014 |
Denmark 2002–2009 |
42,420 children‐mother pair (292 Moroccans). | Cohort | Full breastfeeding until 4 months of age, suboptimal breastfeeding. | Fair, sampling strategy not clearly defined. |
| Castaldo et al., 2017 |
Italy 2013 2014 |
Mothers of 46 Asian and African immigrant children and adolescents (23 Africans—Country not specified). | In‐depth semi‐structured face‐to‐face interviews | Barriers to breastfeeding, the effects of breastfeeding on the psychological and physical health of infants, the social and domestic consequences that affect those women who did not stop breastfeeding when they felt they should have. | Fair, no clear statement of aim. |
| de Hoog et al., 2011 |
Amsterdam 2003–2004 |
3,702 mother–child pairs (282 Moroccans). | Cohort | Change in standard deviation scores (ΔSDS) for weight, length, and weight‐for‐length. | Fair, sampling strategy not clearly defined. |
| Dennis, Gagnon, Van Hulst, & Dougherty, 2014 |
Canada 2006–2009 |
1,875 immigrants and Canadian born women (169 Africans—Country not specified). | Prospective cohort | Predictors of exclusive breastfeeding at 16 weeks post‐partum. | Fair, sampling strategy not clearly defined. |
| Fabiyi et al., 2016 |
Ohio, US 2012–2013 |
20 Black mothers (10 African‐born—Country not specified) | Semi‐structured interviews | Mothers' experiences and views about infant feeding (bottle‐feeding and breastfeeding) while growing up, during pregnancy, and since the delivery of the infant; the role that family members, friends, and health providers played in those experiences; and the barriers and challenges that participants encountered during infant feeding in the most recent pregnancy. | Good |
| Farchi et al., 2016 |
Lazio, Italy 2006–2011 |
6,505 mothers with healthy newborns (111 Africans—Country not specified) | Cohort | Breastfeeding during hospital stay. | Fair, no adjustments for confounding variables. |
| Fawzi et al., 1997 |
Israel 1982–1986 |
1,040 pregnant women of African descent—Country not specified. | Cohort | Maternal anthropometry, infant feeding practices at 1, 2, 3, and 6 months and infant anthropometry. | Fair, outcome measures not clearly defined and no adjustment for confounding variables. |
| Gallegos et al., 2015 |
Brisbane and Perth, Australia 2007–2008 |
30 women and 1 man; 3 women born in Sierra Leone; 8 women and 1 man born in Liberia; 4 women born in Burundi; and 15 women born in Congo. | Face‐to‐face interviews and focus groups | Cultural beliefs, traditional practices, barriers and enablers, and personal experiences in both the country of origin and Australia regarding breastfeeding. | Good |
| Goel et al., 1978 |
Glasgow, UK 1974–1976 |
506 children (99 Africans—Country not specified). | Cross‐sectional survey | Type of feeding mode used, relation of country of birth to feeding mode, duration of breastfeeding, time of introduction of solids, type of solids given, and vitamin supplements. | Fair, no adjustments for confounding variables and sampling strategy not clearly defined. |
| Grewal et al., 2016 |
Eastern Norway (Oslo, Akershus and Buskerud) 2013–2014 |
187 participants (107 of Somali origin). | Cross‐sectional survey. Retrospective | Exclusive breastfeeding, breastfeeding, and other complementary feeding practices at 6 months of age and retrospectively from birth. | Good |
| Griffiths et al., 2005 |
UK 2000–2002 |
18,150 natural mothers of singleton infants. (358 Black Africans—Country not specified). | Cohort | Breastfeeding initiation, measures of breastfeeding duration and prevalence as any breastfeeding to: At least 1 month (>4.35 weeks); 4 months (>17.4 weeks); and 6 months (>26.1 weeks) of age. | Fair, sampling strategy not clearly defined. |
| Griffiths et al., 2007 | UK 2000–2002 | 18,150 natural mothers of singleton infants. (358 Black Africans—Country not specified). | Cohort | Breastfeeding initiation, breastfeeding discontinuation, and introduction of solid foods before 4 months. | Fair, sampling strategy not clearly defined. |
| Hill et al., 2012 |
North‐eastern US |
18 Somali women. | Focus groups | Health care experiences and beliefs regarding pregnancy and birth in the Unites States | Good |
| Hufton & Raven, 2016 |
Liverpool and Manchester, UK 2012 |
30 refugees (24 Africans—Country not specified). | Semi‐structured interviews and focus groups | U.K. feeding experiences compared with experiences elsewhere, knowledge, and awareness of U.K. feeding recommendations, difficulties encountered with infant feeding methods and where help is sought. | Fair, no clear description of analysis process. |
| Ingram et al., 2008 |
Bristol, UK 2006–2007 |
22 women (5 Somali). | Focus groups | Barriers to exclusive breastfeeding to 6 months. | Fair, no clear description of analysis process. |
| Jones & Belsey, 1977 |
Lambeth, London, UK 1975 |
280 mothers of 12‐week‐old infants (14 Africans—Country not specified) | Cross‐sectional survey | Factors influencing mothers' choice of infant feeding. | Good |
| Kelly et al., 2006 |
UK 2000 2001 |
321 Black African mothers—Country not specified. | Survey involving face‐to‐face interviews | Breastfeeding (exclusive, predominant or any) rates in first 6 months | Fair, sampling strategy not clearly defined |
| Kolanen et al., 2016 |
Finland 2012 |
7 Somali mothers. | Focus groups with semi‐structured questions | Breastfeeding in the Somali culture. | Poor, no clear description of research design, recruitment strategy and data analysis process. |
| Meftuh et al., 1991 |
Los Angeles and San Diego, United States 1987 |
45 Ethiopian mothers. |
Retrospective In‐depth interview |
Prenatal experiences and infant feeding patterns. | Good |
| Merewood et al., 2007 |
Boston, US 2003 |
336 singleton infants (32 Africans including Cape Verde). |
Cross‐sectional | Breastfeeding initiation, breastfeeding duration, and factors associated with continued breastfeeding. | Good |
| Moore et al., 2013 |
London, UK 2010–2011 |
349 BME (107 Black Africans—Country not specified). | Survey | Weaning behaviours—Weaning age, factors associated with weaning decisions, weaning information sources, engagement with medical advice, and etc. | Fair, no adjustments for confounding variables |
| Neault et al., 2007 |
US 1998–2004 |
8,800 children aged 0–3 years (1,078 Africans—Country not specified) | Cohort | Infant health status, history of chronic illness, hospitalisation history, and growth status. | Fair, sampling strategy not clearly defined |
| Nolan & Layte, 2015 |
Ireland 2007–2009 |
9,700 9‐month‐old children (African = 1.5%); 7,200 9‐year‐old children (African = 1.3%)—Countries not specified. | Cohort | Breastfeeding initiation. | Good |
| Parker et al., 2017 |
US 2011–2014 |
3983 mothers enrolled African‐born = 42 |
Cohort | Safe sleep and breastfeeding practices. | Good |
| Rio et al., 2011 |
Catalonia and Valencia, Spain 2005–2006 |
2105 sub‐Saharan Africans—Country not specified. | Cross‐sectional | Breastfeeding initiation | Fair, sampling strategy not clearly defined |
| Rubin et al., 2010 |
Hadera, Israel 2005–2006 |
93 Ethiopian born mothers | Cross‐sectional study | Association between the duration of breastfeeding and the independent variables (marital status, educational level, number of children, employment status, time from date of immigration, and religious observance) | Fair, sampling strategy not clearly defined and no adjustments for confounding variables |
| Steinman et al., 2010 |
Seattle, US (year not stated) |
37 Somali mothers | Focus groups | Beliefs about infant feeding, hunger and ideal weight, feeding practices, nutrition education approaches, and provider/mother interactions. | Good |
| Textor et al., 2013 |
South‐eastern Minnesota, US 2010–2011 |
9 immigrant mothers (5 Somali) |
Semi‐structured interviews (mothers) and focus groups (nurses) | Breastfeeding experiences, attitudes and practices related to breastfeeding, and perceptions of relationships with health care providers. | Poor, no clear description of research design, recruitment strategy and data analysis process. |
| Treuherz et al., 1982 |
The City and East London districts, UK 1979–1980 |
3,712 babies 4 weeks of age (191 Africans—Country not specified). | Prospective cohort | Type of feeding (breastfeeding, bottle feeding or mixed) | Fair, sampling strategy not clearly defined |
| Twamley et al., 2011 | London and Birmingham, UK | 34 ethnic minority women born in the United Kingdom (2 Africans—Country not specified). | Semi‐structured interviews | Pregnancy, birth, caring for the newborn, infant feeding, and family and partner involvement in decisions around care. | Fair, no clear description of data analysis process. |
| Tyler et al., 2014 | Toowoomba, Australia. (year not stated) | 10 Sudanese women | Semi‐structured interviews | Commonalities and differences in the Sudanese mothers' breastfeeding experiences in Africa and Australia. | Poor, no clear description of recruitment strategy and data analysis process. |
| (Wallby & Hjern, 2009) | Uppsala, Sweden 1997–2001 | 12,197 infants (212 Africans—Country not specified). | Cohort | Breastfeeding at 1 week, 6, and 12 months | Good |
| (Wandel et al., 2016) |
Oslo, Norway 2012–2015 |
21 Somali mothers. | Semi‐structured interview and focus groups | Mothers' experiences with breastfeeding and complementary feeding, and the introduction of family food. | Good |
Note. Quality assessment rating description: A study was rated “good” if the risk of bias was considered minimal, “fair” if there was some risk of bias but not sufficient to make the results invalid, and “poor” if there was substantial risk of bias that could significantly affect the interpretation of the results.
Abbreviation: BME, Black and minority ethnicity; NHB, Non‐Hispanic black.