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The Impact of International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) Support on Breastfeeding in the UK and Ireland—A Scoping Review

EMILY LUNNY, Helen Gray Orcid Logo, Elen Davies Orcid Logo, Amy Brown Orcid Logo, Catrin Griffiths Orcid Logo

Maternal & Child Nutrition, Volume: 22, Issue: 2, Start page: e70189

Swansea University Authors: EMILY LUNNY, Elen Davies Orcid Logo, Amy Brown Orcid Logo, Catrin Griffiths Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.1111/mcn.70189

Abstract

Breastfeeding is important for infant and maternal physical and mental health. Despite this, the United Kingdom (UK) and Ireland have the lowest breastfeeding rates in the world with between 34% and 52% of women breastfeeding partially or exclusively at 6–8 weeks across the nations. This is driven b...

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Published in: Maternal & Child Nutrition
ISSN: 1740-8695 1740-8709
Published: Wiley 2026
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa71672
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Given significant differences in IBCLC access and health care systems, this review therefore aimed to explore the impact of IBCLCs in the UK and Ireland. Of 5169 papers retrieved, only four studies met the eligibility criteria. Four themes were identified; breast milk feeding rates increased, breastfeeding duration increased, lack of specialised IBCLC support available outside of study and format of support delivery, including group based or 1-1 support. The findings show increased access to IBCLC support may increase breastfeeding rates in the UK and Ireland. However, the findings are limited due to poor quality studies and recruitment bias. 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spelling 2026-05-18T16:36:33.1366095 v2 71672 2026-03-25 The Impact of International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) Support on Breastfeeding in the UK and Ireland—A Scoping Review 11e576dfea81955da14cda408dd6bb88 EMILY LUNNY EMILY LUNNY true false 737fc3272d41df1a9106958a4a273e3a 0000-0002-3621-5308 Elen Davies Elen Davies true false 37aea6965461cb0510473d109411a0c3 0000-0002-0438-0157 Amy Brown Amy Brown true false 2d49e9db71928b3c4e564063c2b8b06e 0000-0002-6581-0536 Catrin Griffiths Catrin Griffiths true false 2026-03-25 Breastfeeding is important for infant and maternal physical and mental health. Despite this, the United Kingdom (UK) and Ireland have the lowest breastfeeding rates in the world with between 34% and 52% of women breastfeeding partially or exclusively at 6–8 weeks across the nations. This is driven by complex biological, social, psychological and economic factors. However, a significant body of evidence shows that mothers who receive skilled breastfeeding support are more likely to breastfeed for longer. Effective breastfeeding support can be delivered by a range of trained professionals and peer supporters depending on need. The highest specialist support is provided by International Board Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLCs). Research from the USA has shown the positive impact of IBCLC support upon breastfeeding duration and experience. However, there is limited data on this topic from the UK and Ireland. Given significant differences in IBCLC access and health care systems, this review therefore aimed to explore the impact of IBCLCs in the UK and Ireland. Of 5169 papers retrieved, only four studies met the eligibility criteria. Four themes were identified; breast milk feeding rates increased, breastfeeding duration increased, lack of specialised IBCLC support available outside of study and format of support delivery, including group based or 1-1 support. The findings show increased access to IBCLC support may increase breastfeeding rates in the UK and Ireland. However, the findings are limited due to poor quality studies and recruitment bias. The paucity of evidence highlights the need for further research on this topic. Journal Article Maternal & Child Nutrition 22 2 e70189 Wiley 1740-8695 1740-8709 29 4 2026 2026-04-29 10.1111/mcn.70189 Review Article COLLEGE NANME COLLEGE CODE Swansea University SU Library paid the OA fee (TA Institutional Deal) Swansea University 2026-05-18T16:36:33.1366095 2026-03-25T10:33:33.1189351 Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences School of Health and Social Care - Public Health EMILY LUNNY 1 Helen Gray 0000-0003-2141-3843 2 Elen Davies 0000-0002-3621-5308 3 Amy Brown 0000-0002-0438-0157 4 Catrin Griffiths 0000-0002-6581-0536 5 71672__36787__ce55f7ca7d5f41678a59e6044973b942.pdf 71672.VOR.pdf 2026-05-18T16:33:22.8156652 Output 750196 application/pdf Version of Record true © 2026 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. true eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
title The Impact of International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) Support on Breastfeeding in the UK and Ireland—A Scoping Review
spellingShingle The Impact of International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) Support on Breastfeeding in the UK and Ireland—A Scoping Review
EMILY LUNNY
Elen Davies
Amy Brown
Catrin Griffiths
title_short The Impact of International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) Support on Breastfeeding in the UK and Ireland—A Scoping Review
title_full The Impact of International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) Support on Breastfeeding in the UK and Ireland—A Scoping Review
title_fullStr The Impact of International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) Support on Breastfeeding in the UK and Ireland—A Scoping Review
title_full_unstemmed The Impact of International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) Support on Breastfeeding in the UK and Ireland—A Scoping Review
title_sort The Impact of International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) Support on Breastfeeding in the UK and Ireland—A Scoping Review
author_id_str_mv 11e576dfea81955da14cda408dd6bb88
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author_id_fullname_str_mv 11e576dfea81955da14cda408dd6bb88_***_EMILY LUNNY
737fc3272d41df1a9106958a4a273e3a_***_Elen Davies
37aea6965461cb0510473d109411a0c3_***_Amy Brown
2d49e9db71928b3c4e564063c2b8b06e_***_Catrin Griffiths
author EMILY LUNNY
Elen Davies
Amy Brown
Catrin Griffiths
author2 EMILY LUNNY
Helen Gray
Elen Davies
Amy Brown
Catrin Griffiths
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container_title Maternal & Child Nutrition
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institution Swansea University
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doi_str_mv 10.1111/mcn.70189
publisher Wiley
college_str Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
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hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
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department_str School of Health and Social Care - Public Health{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences{{{_:::_}}}School of Health and Social Care - Public Health
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description Breastfeeding is important for infant and maternal physical and mental health. Despite this, the United Kingdom (UK) and Ireland have the lowest breastfeeding rates in the world with between 34% and 52% of women breastfeeding partially or exclusively at 6–8 weeks across the nations. This is driven by complex biological, social, psychological and economic factors. However, a significant body of evidence shows that mothers who receive skilled breastfeeding support are more likely to breastfeed for longer. Effective breastfeeding support can be delivered by a range of trained professionals and peer supporters depending on need. The highest specialist support is provided by International Board Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLCs). Research from the USA has shown the positive impact of IBCLC support upon breastfeeding duration and experience. However, there is limited data on this topic from the UK and Ireland. Given significant differences in IBCLC access and health care systems, this review therefore aimed to explore the impact of IBCLCs in the UK and Ireland. Of 5169 papers retrieved, only four studies met the eligibility criteria. Four themes were identified; breast milk feeding rates increased, breastfeeding duration increased, lack of specialised IBCLC support available outside of study and format of support delivery, including group based or 1-1 support. The findings show increased access to IBCLC support may increase breastfeeding rates in the UK and Ireland. However, the findings are limited due to poor quality studies and recruitment bias. The paucity of evidence highlights the need for further research on this topic.
published_date 2026-04-29T06:01:40Z
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