Peer Interaction of Primiparas Sharing a Room With Multiparas With Successful Breastfeeding Experience

Study Design: This project was planned as a two-group, non-blinded randomised controlled trial.

Ethical approval was obtained from the Medical Research Ethics Committee of a university for the conduct of the study (Date: 08.11.2022, Decision no: 22-11T/25).

Population and Sample of the Study: Mothers who were hospitalised in Izmir Democracy University Buca Seyfi Demirsoy Training and Research Hospital obstetrics and gynaecology ward, who met the inclusion criteria and volunteered to participate in the study will constitute the population of the study. A priori power analysis was performed using G.Power 3.1.9.2 package programme to determine the sample size. In the calculation made, with the assumption of 0.5 effect value for 80% power at 95% confidence interval, it was calculated as 128 women, 64 for the group in which peer supported breastfeeding education will be applied and 64 for the group in which standard education will be applied. In order to ensure homogeneity between the groups and to eliminate selection bias, the "block randomisation" method, one of the fixed probability randomisation methods, will be used in the study and women who meet the inclusion criteria will be distributed to the intervention and control groups.

Hypotheses of the study

• H1: Breastfeeding self-efficacy of mothers who receive peer interaction after birth will be higher than the control group.
• H1: The level of exclusive breastfeeding of mothers receiving peer interaction will be higher than that of mothers in the control group.

Mothers to provide peer support

• Multipar
• Mothers with successful breastfeeding experience (Exclusive breastfeeding of the previous baby for at least 6 months, continued breastfeeding at the age of 2 years or older)
• At least secondary education graduate
• Singleton birth
• Vaginal birth (due to rapid mobilisation after birth and quicker adaptation to daily activities)
• with a child aged 5 years and under (limit for the age of the previous child for the memory factor regarding breastfeeding experience)
• Breastfeeding self-efficacy scale score of 60 and above (out of a total score of 70)
• No known or diagnosed psychiatric health problem in medical history
• Women without any health problem that may prevent breastfeeding will be included.

Intervention-Control group mothers

• Primipar
• 18 years and over
• Singleton birth
• No known or diagnosed psychiatric health problem in medical history
• Women who do not have any health problems that may prevent breastfeeding will be included.

Baby

• Born between 37-42 weeks
• Birth weight ≥2.5 kg and ≤3.9 kg
• 1 and 5 minute Apgar scores ≥8
• Not referred to neonatal intensive care unit

Exclusion criteria

for individuals/patients in the study:

• Under 18 years of age
• Non-literate in Turkish
• Has a psychiatrically diagnosed health problem
• Developing a health problem that may prevent breastfeeding
• Taking medication that may jeopardise breastfeeding
• Women who do not want to participate will not be included in the study.

Exclusion criteria

• Requesting a room change
• Not wanting to/wanting to stop peer interaction within the scope of the room arrangement
• After settling in the room, those who did not want to answer the data collection tools for any reason/left the data collection tools unfinished
• Mothers who could not be reached in the postnatal 1st month follow-up will be excluded from the study.