The first week of August is World Breastfeeding Week and the full month of August is National Breastfeeding Awareness Month for many countries - the perfect time to highlight the Cochrane Library Special Collection, which brings together Cochrane Reviews assessing evidence on interventions to support breastfeeding.

Please see more resources at the bottom of this article

This collection of hand-picked systematic reviews on breastfeeding has been developed to bring the best available evidence on effective care to the attention of decision makers, health professionals, advocacy groups, and women and families, and to support the implementation of evidence-informed policy and practice. The collection focuses on reviews of support and care for breastfeeding women, including treatment of breastfeeding associated problems; health promotion and an enabling environment; and breastfeeding babies with additional needs.  The Cochrane Reviews in this collection have been prepared by the authors and editors of the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group and the Cochrane Neonatal Group.

Related resources

• "Cochrane Indonesia’s Director reflects on her continued contributions to maternal and perinatal health and the work of Cochrane"
• "Cochrane Croatia translates Special Collection on Breastfeeding"
• "World Health Organization uses Cochrane evidence in breastfeeding guideline"
• "New Cochrane Library Breastfeeding Special Collection" - Cochrane Australia news round-up and interview with author Christine East
• "Breastfeeding: evidence on effecting support and enablers for mothers and their babies" - blog post from author Christine East
• "Yummy, yummy in my tummy, getting big with milk from mummy. Getting preterm babies feeding orally - a roundup of current evidence." - Evidently Cochrane blog
• "Exclusive breastfeeding or extra food and fluids: evidence and practice" - Evidently Cochrane blog.
• "New Lancet Breastfeeding Series is a call to action" - Evidently Cochrane blog.
• Podcast: Support for breastfeeding mothers
• "Support programs help moms extend breastfeeding time" - Reuters article
• Read about the Special Collection in Spanish.