The effect of postpartum family visits on the promotion of breastfeeding and improvement of maternal and infant health.

OBJECTIVE

The study was designed to explore the effect of postpartum family visits on the promotion of breastfeeding and the improvement of maternal and infant health.

METHODS

A total of 200 cases of parturients who gave birth in our hospital from January 2019 to January 2020 were selected as the research participants. According to a randomized, double-blinded and controlled manner, they were divided into a study group (n=100, with postpartum family visits) and a control group (n=100, without postpartum family visits). The amount of lactation, breastfeeding status, knowledge of breastfeeding health, and the incidence of maternal adverse events were compared between the two groups at different follow-up times after intervention. The physical development of infants and the occurrence of adverse events were also compared.

RESULTS

The lactation of the parturients in the study group at 28, 60, and 120 days after delivery was significantly higher than that of the control group, and the proportion of exclusive breastfeeding of the study group was higher than that of the control group (<0.05). The comparison of 120 days after delivery showed that the knowledge of breastfeeding health and self-confidence in breastfeeding in the study group were better than those in the control group (<0.05). The 120-day postpartum evaluation showed that there was no significant difference in the height and weight of the infants between the two groups (>0.05). The incidence of maternal and neonatal adverse events of the study group was lower than that of the control group (<0.05).

CONCLUSION

Postpartum family visits for parturients can help improve breastfeeding, increase maternal knowledge of breastfeeding health, and also help reduce the incidence of various adverse events of parturients and infants, which is worthy of clinical application.