To provide patients with easily accessible information in the form of a smartphone application regarding medically appropriate information about breastfeeding and to assess the impact this information has on women's breastfeeding rates and perception of self-efficacy.
The benefits of breastfeeding for both mother and neonate have been well documented and extensively researched. Breastfeeding rates remain suboptimal despite known advantages including reduced lifetime risk of maternal ovarian cancer, more rapid return to pre-gestational weight, improvement in maternal/neonatal bonding, reduction in neonatal allergic/immunologic conditions. Both non-modifiable and modifiable factors affecting a mother's decision regarding breastfeeding have been identified. Modifiable factors include breastfeeding knowledge, self-efficacy, and confidence. Breastfeeding self-efficacy has been positively correlated with breastfeeding duration. There is a lack of local data on breastfeeding rates, duration, and self-efficacy in the Augusta University women's health population as well as a lack of documented improvement of these factors following educational programs. Our study aims to create a program that is easily accessible and available to our patient population in the form of a free application available on Apple devices capable of accessing the internet (e.g., i-phone, i-pad, etc.). This study will be a randomized control trial. The intervention group will have access to the application while the control group will not. Our hypothesis is that the application will improve long-term breastfeeding rates, duration, and self-efficacy if offered to patients at 32 through 36 weeks gestation. This will be assessed by comparing initial self-efficacy survey results with survey results at 12 months postpartum for the intervention versus control groups. We will also measure breastfeeding duration during the first 12 months postpartum and exclusive breastfeeding rates at 6 months postpartum.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
OTHER
Masking
DOUBLE
Enrollment
93
This is a free Apple-Based Smartphone Application the participant can download. In the application, there is information and tips for breastfeeding success and continuation, as well as information on additional resources both online and in the community as a whole.
Augusta University
Augusta, Georgia, United States
Breastfeeding duration
We will assess total breastfeeding duration
Time frame: 12 months postpartum
Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Rates
The breastfeeding self-efficacy short form is a validated, standardized form to assess participants' sense of breastfeeding self-efficacy.
Time frame: 12 months postpartum
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