Effect of telephone follow‑up on postdelivery breastfeeding and maternal attachment

Context: encouraging breastfeeding is a public health priority. however, no study is available from iran on the effect of telephone follow-up on postpartum maternal attachment to the newborn. aims: to assess the impact of postpartum telephone follow-up on breastfeeding and maternal attachment. setting and design: a clinical trial was conducted on 120 mothers who had a delivery at alborz hospital of karaj during the spring of 2014. material and methods: mothers were randomly assigned into three groups of 40. the groups one and three received breastfeeding training (bft) and the groups one and two received telephone follow-up. data were collected using a questionnaire. all groups had a pretest and a posttest on their knowledge, attitude, and performance toward breastfeeding. mothers’ attachment to their newborn was assessed at the end of the study. statistical analysis used: analysis of variance, tukey, and paired t tests were used for data analysis. results: the bft plus telephone follow-up could increase the mothers’ scores in breastfeeding. however, telephone follow-up could not affect the maternal attachment scores. the mean attachment score was significantly higher in mothers with a planned pregnancy (p < 0.001), higher financial income (p < 0.01), and a girl baby (p < 0.014). conclusions: this study confirmed the beneficial effect of bft and telephone follow-up on mothers’ knowledge, attitude, and performance toward breastfeeding. therefore, integration of bft and telephone follow-up in postpartum care programs are suggested.