Abstract
Context: Encouraging breastfeeding is a public health priority. However, no study is available from Iran on the effect of telephone follow-up on postpartum maternal attachment to the newborn.
Aims: To assess the impact of postpartum telephone follow-up on breastfeeding and maternal attachment.
Setting and Design: A clinical trial was conducted on 120 mothers who had a delivery at Alborz Hospital of Karaj during the spring of 2014.
Material and Methods: Mothers were randomly assigned into three groups of 40. The groups one and three received breastfeeding training (BFT) and the groups one and two received telephone follow-up. Data were collected using a questionnaire. All groups had a pretest and a posttest on their knowledge, attitude, and performance toward breastfeeding. Mothers’ attachment to their newborn was assessed at the end of the study.
Statistical Analysis Used: Analysis of variance, Tukey, and Paired t tests were used for data analysis.
Results: The BFT plus telephone follow-up could increase the mothers’ scores in breastfeeding. However, telephone follow-up could not affect the maternal attachment scores. The mean attachment score was significantly higher in mothers with a planned pregnancy (P < 0.001), higher financial income (P < 0.01), and a girl baby (P < 0.014).
Conclusions: This study confirmed the beneficial effect of BFT and telephone follow-up on mothers’ knowledge, attitude, and performance toward breastfeeding. Therefore, integration of BFT and telephone follow-up in postpartum care programs are suggested.
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© 2017, Author(s). This open-access article is available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which allows for unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided that the original work is properly cited.