Abstract: We included 23 studies (from 35 reports) with a total of 11,170 caregiver-infant pairs who were randomly assigned to receive an educational intervention delivered to the caregiver or usual care. Nineteen of the included studies were community-based studies while four were facility-based studies. In addition, 13 of the included studies were cluster-randomised while the others were individually randomised. Generally, the interventions were focused on the introduction of complementary feeding at the appropriate time, the types and amount of complementary foods to be fed to infants, and hygiene. Using the GRADE criteria, we assessed the quality of the evidence as moderate, mostly due to inadequate allocation concealment and insufficient blinding. Educational interventions led to improvements in complementary feeding practices for age at introduction of complementary foods (average RR 0.88, 95% CI 0.83 to 0.94; 4 studies, 1738 children; moderate-quality evidence) and hygiene practices (average RR 1.38, 95% CI 1.23 to 1.55; 4 studies, 2029 participants; moderate-quality evidence). For duration of exclusive breastfeeding, pooled results were compatible with both a reduction and an increase in the outcome (average RR 1.58, 95% CI 0.77 to 3.22; 3 studies, 1544 children; very low-quality evidence). There was limited (low to very low-quality) evidence of an effect for all growth outcomes. Quality of evidence There is moderate to very low-quality evidence that educational interventions can improve complementary feeding practices but insufficient evidence to conclude that it impacts growth outcomes. Overall, we found evidence that education improves complementary feeding practices.

Plain-language summary: We searched for randomised controlled trials (a type of experiment in which people are randomly allocated to one or more treatment groups) up until November 2017. The search identified 23 studies involving a total of 11,170 caregivers and their children. The ages of the children ranged from birth to 24 months. The caregivers received educational interventions alone while the control group received no intervention, usual care or any other non-educational intervention. The educational methods included printed materials such as leaflets, counselling, teaching sessions, peer support, videos and practical demonstrations. Generally, the education messages were focused on the introduction of semi-solid foods at the appropriate age, the types and amount of complementary foods to be fed to infants, and hygiene. Education reduced the number of caregivers that introduced semi-solid foods to their infants before six months of age by up to 12% (moderate-quality evidence). Hygiene practices of caregivers who received education also showed some improvement compared to those that did not (moderate-quality evidence). In studies conducted in the community, education increased the duration of exclusive breastfeeding, but not in studies conducted in health facilities. There was no convincing evidence of an effect of education on the growth of children (low to very low-quality evidence). We could not combine the results from different studies for diarrhoea, knowledge of caregivers and adequacy of complementary food. However, from the individual reports of the study authors, education led to a reduction in diarrhoea and an improvement in the knowledge of caregivers. It also led to improvement in the quality and quantity of complementary foods fed to infants. Overall, we found evidence that education improves complementary feeding practices.