Maternal Big Five personality traits and breastfeeding outcomes: what we know and what we don't know

Exclusive breastfeeding-feeding an infant only breast milk for the first 6 months of life-is recognized as the preventive intervention with the greatest potential to reduce child mortality. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that only 44% of all infants globally are exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months of life. Research into the barriers to meeting this goal of exclusive breastfeeding suggests an important role for sociodemographic factors. Maternal personality traits, another possible factor affecting infant feeding outcomes, have received relatively sparse attention from researchers and are the focus of this mini-review. Three databases and one peer-reviewed journal in lactation that was not included in either were systematically searched. Studies that analyzed the relationship between maternal Big Five personality traits and breastfeeding or lactation outcomes were included in this mini-review. In addition, the reference sections of all included studies were searched for other possible matches, resulting in one more study being included. Eleven studies dating from 2006 to 2022 met the criteria for inclusion in this mini-review. In total, they included = 19,425 participants. Due to the differences in methodology, statistical analysis, and breastfeeding outcomes analyzed, they were summarized using a narrative synthesis. There were no emerging patterns regarding associations between Big Five personality traits and breastfeeding outcomes. While personality traits may play a role, their influence might be moderated by other factors, including other psychological, social, and demographic variables. More studies employing state-of-the-art research design and analysis methods are needed to see whether patterns will emerge.