Autistic women's views and experiences of infant feeding: A systematic review of qualitative evidence.

ABSTRACT:

Lay abstract

What is already known about the topic?Mothers are encouraged to breastfeed their babies due to known health benefits for both babies and mothers. However, although breastfeeding is 'natural', that does not make it easy and many women experience challenges. Autistic women may face additional barriers to breastfeeding when compared to neurotypical women.What this paper adds?We reviewed all existing evidence on Autistic mothers' infant feeding experiences (22 pieces) and found that although many Autistic women wanted to breastfeed, breastfeeding was difficult for Autistic mothers for three key reasons. First, maternity and infant feeding services were inaccessible and unsupportive to Autistic mothers, meaning they did not receive help when needed. Second, be

SUBMITTER: Grant A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9344572 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature