Husbands’ participation in prenatal care and breastfeeding self-efficacy in Iranian women: A randomized clinical trial

Self-efficacy is an important psychological and motivational factor for continuation of exclusive breastfeeding. This study aimed to examine the effect of husband participation on self-efficacy of breastfeeding in postpartum period. Methods: This study was a single-blind clinical trial (IRCT2014012115163N2) conducted on 66 pregnant women who referred to health centers of Urmia in 2014. Convenience sampling method was used to select the participants and then they were randomly allocated to control and intervention groups using RANDBETWEEN function in Excel. Participants in the intervention group had 2 training sessions with 4-week interval. They could also use telephone counseling over study time. Those in the control group received the routine pregnancy care, and their breastfeeding self-efficacy was compared 1 month after delivery using Dennis Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy questionnaire. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 20. Chi square, independent and paired samples t test were used. Results: In this study, the mean score of breastfeeding self-efficacy in the intervention and control groups after intervention was 50.36±8.65 and 44.12±10.41, respectively, which showed a statistically significant difference (p=0.017). Conclusion: According to the results, one of the considerable strategies to enhance self-efficacy of breastfeeding is to involve husbands in prenatal care, which should be considered by the authorities and health professionals, including doctors, nurses, and midwives.