The effect of breastfeeding education with grandmothers' attendance on breastfeeding self-efficacy and infant feeding pattern in Iranian primiparous women: a quasi-experimental pilot study

Background One of the most important factors that affects breastfeeding self-efficacy and exclusivity is breastfeeding support provided by the family. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of breastfeeding education sessions for primiparous women, with and without the attendance of maternal grandmothers, on breastfeeding self-efficacy and infant feeding patterns. Methods This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 64 primiparous women who referred to the Antenatal Clinic of Amiralmomenin Hospital, Tehran, Iran from June to December, 2018. Eligible pregnant women were allocated into two groups; either with and without grandmothers in attendance. Group assignments were determined according to the week the women had prenatal care at the hospital. All eligible women seen in the clinic during 1 week were assigned to one group and women who presented in the alternating week were assigned to the other group. In the education group with grandmothers in attendance, each woman participated in two prenatal education programs with her mother and one postpartum program approximately 3 h before discharge. In the other group, participating mothers attended breastfeeding education sessions without the grandmother's attendance. The participating mothers answered questions from the Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale-Short Form (BSES-SF) at the time of the hospital discharge, and 4 and 8 weeks after delivery. Questions about the infants' feeding patterns were asked by telephone contact with the participating mothers from both groups at the same time periods. Results The mean BFSE scores were signficantly different between the groups with grandmothers and without grandmothers at the time of the hospital discharge (60.15 +/- 4.47 vs. 56.84 +/- 6.22, independent t-test;p = 0.017), and at 4 weeks (61.71 +/- 2.66 vs. 56.62 +/- 9.12,p = 0.004) and 8 weeks after delivery (63.68 +/- 2.14 vs. 60.03 +/- 6.32,p = 0.003). No significant difference existed in infant feeding patterns between the groups at the same time periods. Conclusions This study suggests that breastfeeding education with grandmothers' attendance is effective in improving the mothers' breastfeeding self-efficacy. A family-centered program should be considered in beastfeeding education for increasing of exclusive breastfeeding.