The Phenomenon of Human Migration on the Breastfeeding Practices of Migrant Women: A Scoping Review

Human migrations and different migratory flows have been as old as the practice of breastfeeding (BF). The reasons for migrating, the conditions, and its protagonists are so diverse, often constituting situations of vulnerability and risk for health decision-making at both the individual and collective levels. The relationship between BF and human migration is totally dynamic and includes multiple factors, which is why there is a need to characterize territorially its prevalence rate and variability depending on the context. The migration profiles that can be configured from factors, such as schooling, employment, the host country's health system, and support networks, among others, have heterogeneity between countries that make it necessary to identify them. This study is an in-depth review of the report on the practice of BF in migrant women. The Arksey and O'Malley method was used to perform the PubMed and SciELO searches. The search terms were "exclusive breastfeeding (EBF)," "breastfeeding," "migrant women," and "human migration," and original articles published in English, Spanish, and Portuguese were included. Of the 43 selected articles, differences were found between the various migrant groups, in variables such as socioeconomic level, education, access to health services, maternal knowledge, father factor, culture, and intention to breastfeed. The heterogeneity of the practice of BF between countries, as well as in intraregional migratory flows, establishes different protective or risk factors depending on where the phenomenon develops and its conditions.