An online home-based breastfeeding peer support programme is proposed to support mothers who are giving birth to their first-born. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of this programme in improving breastfeeding practices among women with low breastfeeding self-efficacy. It is hypothesized that participants who received online home-based peer support will exclusively breastfeed for longer duration, have higher breastfeeding self-efficacy, and lower post-partum depression symptoms when compared to those receiving only standard care.
Primiparous mothers who plan to breastfeed but did not go on to breastfeed often face high levels of emotional and psychological challenges in their transition to parenthood. This can adversely affect their breastfeeding experiences and general well-being, and is associated with stress, anxiety, and postnatal depression. While family psycho-education and other supportive group programmes are available in health services, they require face-to-face education sessions over a long interval, high engagement, and trusting relationships, and thus often result in low attendance and high drop outs. Mothers have expressed the need for psychological support of peer counsellors, which would allow them to support each other. The first month postpartum is a critical period for sustaining exclusive breastfeeding and the time when mothers are at high risk of postpartum depression. For Chinese mothers in Hong Kong, however, they are often housebound during this period due to the tradition of "doing the month", and thus often find it difficult to attend support groups or seek help. In view of these challenges and the pandemic wave faced by primiparous mothers, they are reluctant with home visits, therefore an online delivery of the home-based peer support programme is proposed. This randomized control trial adopts a two-arm design to examine the effectiveness of an online home-based peer support programme for women with low breastfeeding self-efficacy. It is hypothesized that those receiving the intervention, when compared to the controls, will have (1) longer period of exclusive breastfeeding, (2) higher postnatal breastfeeding self-efficacy, and (3) lower post-partum depressive symptoms.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Online Home-based peer support will be provided to support participants' breastfeeding. There will be a minimum of 2 and maximum of 3 home visits between trained peer counsellors and participants. Each session will last approximately 30 minutes.
Queen Elizabeth Hospital
Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Queen Mary Hospital
Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Infant Feeding Status: Exclusive Breastfeeding
Number/ proportion of participants who practice exclusive breastfeeding at 1 months postpartum.
Time frame: At 1 month postpartum
Infant Feeding Status: Exclusive Breastfeeding
Number/ proportion of participants who practiced exclusive breastfeeding at 2 month postpartum.
Time frame: At 2 months postpartum
Infant Feeding Status: Exclusive Breastfeeding
Number/ proportion of participants that practice exclusive breastfeeding at 4 months postpartum.
Time frame: At 4 months postpartum
Infant Feeding Status: Exclusive Breastfeeding
Number/ proportion of participants that practice exclusive breastfeeding at 6 months postpartum.
Time frame: At 6 months postpartum
Women's Self-efficacy in Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding Self-efficacy Scale Short Form (Hong Kong Chinese version) is used to measure maternal breastfeeding self-efficacy. The 14-item scale is on a 5-point Likert scale. Total score ranged from 14 to 70 with a higher score indicating higher breastfeeding confidence and self-efficacy. A cut-off score of 46 is applied after rounding up to the nearest integer.
Time frame: At baseline, 2 months and 4 months postpartum
Women's Self-efficacy in Breastfeeding at Baseline
Breastfeeding Self-efficacy Scale Short Form (Hong Kong Chinese version) is used to measure maternal breastfeeding self-efficacy. The 14-item scale is on a 5-point Likert scale. Total score ranged from 14 to 70 with a higher score indicating higher breastfeeding confidence and self-efficacy. A cut-off score of 46 is applied after rounding up to the nearest integer.
This platform is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional.
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
442
Time frame: At baseline
Women's Self-efficacy in Breastfeeding at 2 Months Postpartum
Breastfeeding Self-efficacy Scale Short Form (Hong Kong Chinese version) is used to measure maternal breastfeeding self-efficacy. The 14-item scale is on a 5-point Likert scale. Total score ranged from 14 to 70 with a higher score indicating higher breastfeeding confidence and self-efficacy. A cut-off score of 46 is applied after rounding up to the nearest integer.
Time frame: At 2 months postpartum
Women's Self-efficacy in Breastfeeding at 4 Months Postpartum
Breastfeeding Self-efficacy Scale Short Form (Hong Kong Chinese version) is used to measure maternal breastfeeding self-efficacy. The 14-item scale is on a 5-point Likert scale. Total score ranged from 14 to 70 with a higher score indicating higher breastfeeding confidence and self-efficacy. A cut-off score of 46 is applied after rounding up to the nearest integer.
Time frame: At 4 months postpartum
Women's Postpartum Depression at Baseline
The Chinese version of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale is used to measure the severity of postnatal depressive symptoms. It is a ten-item scale rated from 0 to 3. The total score could range from 0 to 30. In general, a higher score indicates more severe depressive symptoms.
Time frame: At baseline
Women's Postpartum Depression at 1 Month Postpartum
The Chinese version of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale is used to measure the severity of postnatal depressive symptoms. It is a ten-item scale rated from 0 to 3. The total score could range from 0 to 30. In general, a higher score indicates more severe depressive symptoms.
Time frame: At 1 month postpartum
Women's Postpartum Depression at 2 Month Postpartum
The Chinese version of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale is used to measure the severity of postnatal depressive symptoms. It is a ten-item scale rated from 0 to 3. The total score could range from 0 to 30. In general, a higher score indicates more severe depressive symptoms.
Time frame: At 2 month postpartum