effect of educational program on maternal breastfeeding self-efficacy: a randomized controlled trial

Background: breastfeeding contributes to the reduction of infant mortality. educational programs have been employed to strengthen maternal breastfeeding self-efficacy. this study aimed to evaluate the effect of a combined educational intervention on maternal breastfeeding self-efficacy.methods: a clinical trial was conducted with 152 postpartum women from a public maternity hospital in fortaleza, brazil, between february and november 2019. participants were randomized in blocks into an intervention group and a comparison group that received conventional care. the intervention group received serial album “eu posso amamentar o meu filho” (i can breastfeed my child) and brief motivational interview in addition to routine care. data collection occurred at the maternity hospital and via telephone follow-up at 15, 30, 60, 90, 120, and 180 days, using a sociodemographic and obstetric questionnaire, the brazilian version of the breastfeeding self-efficacy scale – short form, and a feeding pattern form. data were analyzed using spss version 20.0, employing chi-square tests, independent t-tests, and repeated measures analysis. a significance level of less than 0.05 was considered.results: the intervention group showed higher mean scores in breastfeeding self-efficacy than the comparison group at 15 (p<0.001), 30 (p<0.001), 60 (p<0.001), and 90 days (p=0.015). in the comparison group, the means across the time points did not show a statistically significant difference (p=0.087), but in the intervention group, there was a statistically significant difference (p<0.001). regarding exclusive breastfeeding, the mean score of self-efficacy in the intervention group was higher the than comparison group to 60 days (p<0.001).conclusion: the combined educational intervention increased breastfeeding self-efficacy, and its effects lasted for up to 90 days postpartum.trial registration number: u1111-1251-1052.