Quality counseling can positively impact maternal, infant and young child nutrition (MIYCN) behaviors linked to poor nutrition outcomes. Global guidance includes 93 recommendations on MIYCN counseling.

Despite proven benefits, less than half of infants and young children globally are breastfed in accordance with the recommendations of WHO.

This Series paper examines how mother and baby attributes at the individual level interact with breastfeeding determinants at other levels, how these interactions drive breastfeeding outcomes, and what policies and interventions are necessary to achieve optimal breastfeeding. 

Despite increasing evidence about the value and importance of breastfeeding, less than half of the world's infants and young children (aged 0–36 months) are breastfed as recommended. This Series paper examines the social, political, and economic reasons for this problem.

In August 2022, UNICEF, WHO, Irish Aid and Alive & Thrive's offices in West Africa and Southeast Asia collabor