Table 2.

Facilitators to EBF practice: Codebook with the various identified themes, sub-themes, and studies

Themes	Sub-themes	Codes	Studies
1.Maternal-infant factors	1.1 Maternal factors	1.1.1 Mother’s personal opinion of EBF and knowledge of the benefits of EBF.	[29, 31, 32, 37, 39–41, 45]
		1.1.2 Mothers’ commitment and self-efficacy	[35–37, 40]
		1.1.3 Adequate maternal nutrition	[32, 34, 45]
	1.2 Infant factors	1.2.1 Better cognitive development	[26, 29, 30, 41, 45]
		1.2.2 Protection against infections	[29, 31, 32, 37, 39, 42]
2. Influence of support structures	2.1 Influence of family members	2.1.1 Influence of husband	[26, 29, 30, 32, 44]
		2.1.2 Influence of other family members	[26, 30, 32, 34, 36, 44]
	2.2 Workplace support	2.2.1 Flexible work time and longer maternity leave	[28, 41]
		2.2.2 Arrangement of nursery at the workplace	[40]
	2.3 Health system support	2.3.1 Influence of healthcare workers	[26, 28, 29, 36, 37, 41, 44]
3. Influence of traditional and sociocultural beliefs	3.1 Sociocultural beliefs	3.3.1 Breast milk is the only food for infants and a natural gift from God	[30, 39]
		3.3.2 Breastfeeding is a traditional practice	[29, 30]
		3.3.3 Belief that colostrum is good for the baby	[41, 45]
		3.3.4 Fear of discrimination	[28, 30, 38, 43, 45]
4. Influence on family finances	4.1 Resource constraints	4.1.1 Saves the cost of purchasing infant formula/hospital visits	[30, 31, 39, 41, 43]
5. Environmental factors	5.1 Poor sanitation and hygiene practices	5.1.1 Fear of infection due to inadequate preparation of food and water	[31]