The Effect Of Educational Support Intervention For Infant Care On The Growth Rates Of Infants, Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy And Quality Of Life Of Their Mothers And Sharing The Experiences Of Peer Groups: Study Protocol

Abstract Background: Mother's knowledge of how to deal properly with the infant's problems and provide the necessary care can increase the mother's confidence in providing care for her infant and eliminate misconceptions in primiparous mothers. The present study was conducted to the effect of educational support intervention for infant care on the growth rates of infants, breastfeeding self-efficacy and quality of life of their mothers and sharing the experiences of peer groups.Methods: This quasi-experimental study is an educational support intervention protocol for infant care which will be conducted in two phases. The educational support program will be designed in the first phase. The program includes educational sessions on breastfeeding, growth and development of infants and care for children under two years of age in a virtual group where a physician, a nurse, a midwife and a healthcare provider are also present. Using the opinions of the experts, the peer group will discuss various points and the research team will finalize the program based on priorities. The second phase of the educational intervention will be conducted experimentally as a pretest-posttest design for the intervention and control groups.Discussion: The present study provides useful data about the effect of educational support intervention for infant care and the sharing peer group experiences on infants' growth rates, breastfeeding self-efficacy, and quality of life of their mothers. the current educational package not only combines virtual education and peer experiences in strengthening the education of mothers, but also it can improve mothers' physical and mental health and reduce medical costs by using telephone follow-up in supporting the mothers of infants.Trial registration: Registration of this randomized control trial has been completed with the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials, IRCT20210913052457N1, registered 9/10/2021, https://www.irct.ir/trial/59093