School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN), Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia.
School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane, Australia.
Int Breastfeed J. 2023 Jan 6;18(1):2. doi: 10.1186/s13006-022-00537-x.
Exclusive breastfeeding remains sub-optimal in low-income countries contributing to infant mortality. Mobile health (mHealth) interventions, delivered through personal mobile phones, to improve exclusive breastfeeding have shown promise, but very few include fathers or have been applied in low-income countries. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a SMS-based breastfeeding intervention targeting fathers and mothers in improving exclusive breastfeeding at three months in a low-income country.
A quasi-experimental study was carried out with couples in their last trimester of pregnancy, at health centers, Mekelle, Tigray. This study was conducted from September 2018 to March 2019. The SMS-based intervention delivered a total of 16 SMS text messages to two arms: mothers-and-fathers, and mothers-only with the third group acting as the control. The main outcome measure was exclusive breastfeeding at months one, two and three after birth.
There were no significant differences in exclusive breastfeeding at month one between the three, mothers-and-fathers (95.1%), mother-only (90.2%), and control group (85%). At month three 85% of babies were exclusively breastfed in the mothers-and-fathers compared to 60% in the control group (p = 0.01). At month three 80% of babies were exclusively breastfed in the mothers-only compared to 60% in the control group (p = 0.04). In the multivariate analysis, babies born to mothers in the mother-and-fathers group were almost five times more likely to be exclusively breastfeed at three months than babies born to mothers who received standard care [AOR: 4.88, 95% CI (1.35,17.63)].
An mHealth intervention targeting fathers and mothers, and mothers increased the likelihood of babies being exclusively breastfed at three months. The risk of not exclusively breastfeeding in the control group increased over time. A low-cost SMS-based breastfeeding intervention targeting fathers and mothers showed potential to improve exclusive breastfeeding. Such mHealth interventions could be integrated into the antenatal and postnatal follow-up services provided by midwives.
This trial was registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR) 12,618,001,481,268.
在低收入国家，纯母乳喂养仍然不理想，这导致了婴儿死亡率的上升。通过个人手机提供的移动医疗（mHealth）干预措施，以改善纯母乳喂养，已显示出一定的效果，但很少有措施同时针对父亲或在低收入国家实施。本研究旨在评估一种针对父亲和母亲的基于短信的母乳喂养干预措施，在一个低收入国家改善婴儿在三个月时纯母乳喂养的效果。
在提格雷州梅克莱尔的卫生中心，对最后一个孕期的夫妇进行了一项准实验研究。本研究于 2018 年 9 月至 2019 年 3 月进行。基于短信的干预措施向两个组共发送了 16 条短信：父母组和母亲组，第三组作为对照组。主要结局指标是产后一个月、两个月和三个月的纯母乳喂养率。
在三个月时，三组的纯母乳喂养率没有显著差异：父母组（95.1%）、母亲组（90.2%）和对照组（85%）。在三个月时，母亲和父亲组中 85%的婴儿是纯母乳喂养，而对照组中只有 60%（p=0.01）。在三个月时，母亲组中 80%的婴儿是纯母乳喂养，而对照组中只有 60%（p=0.04）。在多变量分析中，与接受标准护理的母亲所生的婴儿相比，母亲在父母组的婴儿在三个月时进行纯母乳喂养的可能性几乎高出五倍[比值比：4.88，95%置信区间（1.35，17.63）]。
针对父母和母亲的 mHealth 干预措施增加了婴儿在三个月时进行纯母乳喂养的可能性。对照组中不进行纯母乳喂养的风险随着时间的推移而增加。针对父亲和母亲的低成本基于短信的母乳喂养干预措施显示出改善纯母乳喂养的潜力。这种 mHealth 干预措施可以整合到助产士提供的产前和产后随访服务中。
本试验在澳大利亚和新西兰临床试验注册中心（ANZCTR）注册，注册号为 12,618,001,481,268。
