Effect of Prenatal Counseling on Exclusive Breastfeeding Frequency and Infant Weight Gain in Mothers with Previous Unsuccessful Breastfeeding

Introduction: Breastfeeding constitutes a major factor in the health of infants. The present study aimed to determine the effect of prenatal counseling on the frequency of exclusive breastfeeding and infant weight gain in mothers.Methods: This was a clinical trial on 108 pregnant women with previous unsuccessful breastfeeding who visited the healthcare centers in Tabriz, Iran, in 2017. Participants were randomly allocated either to an intervention or a control group. The intervention group received four breastfeeding counseling sessions in the third trimester, whereas the control group merely received routine care. Phone or in -person counseling was offered to mothers until the day 15 and the end of the month 4 postpartum. A researcher-made breastfeeding performance checklist was completed by the intervention and control groups on three occasions. Data were analyzed using the chi-square test, independent t-test, Fisher’s exact test, multivariate logistic regression analysis, and repeated measures ANOVA.Results: The frequency of exclusive breastfeeding in the intervention group was 75.9%, 72.2%, and 72.2% on day 15, and 2 and 4 months postpartum, respectively. It was 31.5%, 16.7%, and 16.7% in the control group, respectively. The probability of exclusive breastfeeding on day 15 (OR=20.4), month 2 (OR=36.1), and month 4 (OR=30.5) was significantly higher in the intervention group. The mean infant weight on day 15 postpartum was significantly higher in the intervention group (mean difference=112.2; 95% confidence interval=29.8-194.5; P=0.008). No statistically significant difference was observed between the two groups in terms of infant weight gain in months 2 (P=0.221) and 4 (P=0.128) postpartum.Conclusion: The results of the study showed that pregnancy counseling increases the frequency of exclusive breastfeeding in mothers during postpartum and improves infant weight gain

کلیدواژه ها:

exclusive breastfeeding ، weight gain ، counseling ، infant