NCT04826796

Brief Summary

Due the uncertainty of the pandemic wave and government restrictions that may affect health care services and behaviour, alternative mhealth strategies should be explored to identify breastfeeding support or problems early to prevent subsequent cessation that may affect mother and child health. It is also important to understand the feasibility of a WhatsApp online group on breastfeeding by peer counsellors during postnatal period and the acceptability of such intervention. Therefore this study will provide preliminary information necessary for implementation of a full RCT of mhealth intervention in the future. The aim of this study is to examine the feasibility and effectiveness of a WhatsApp online peer support group program in improving breastfeeding practices. There have been no published studies that have examined the feasibility and acceptability of a Whatsapp online group on breastfeeding for postnatal women in Hong Kong. Given the significant pandemic problem that may affect health services and health behavior of pregnant women, the proposed study will contribute substantial new information about the feasibility and potential implications for future care pathways for postnatal women. Such information will be invaluable to public health professional working to breastfeeding promotion and to health policy makers in setting institutional policies.

Trial Health

87
On Track

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment
43

participants targeted

Target at P25-P50 for not_applicable

Timeline
Completed

Started Mar 2021

Shorter than P25 for not_applicable

Geographic Reach
1 country

1 active site

Status
completed

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

Click on a node to explore related trials.

Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

Study Start

First participant enrolled

March 5, 2021

Completed
20 days until next milestone

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

March 25, 2021

Completed
7 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

April 1, 2021

Completed
29 days until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

April 30, 2021

Completed
8 months until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

December 31, 2021

Completed
Last Updated

September 21, 2022

Status Verified

September 1, 2022

Enrollment Period

2 months

First QC Date

March 25, 2021

Last Update Submit

September 20, 2022

Conditions

Breastfeeding, ExclusiveBreastfeeding

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

  • Change in proportion of participants who are exclusively breastfeeding

    The number of participants who are exclusively breastfeeding at each time point.

    At 1, 2, 4, and 6 months postpartum

  • Change in proportion of participants who are any breastfeeding

    The number of participants who are any breastfeeding at each time point.

    At 1, 2, 4, and 6 months postpartum

Secondary Outcomes (2)

  • Breastfeeding self-efficacy

    At baseline and 2 month postpartum

  • Breastfeeding attitude

    At baseline and 2 month postpartum

Study Arms (2)

Whatsapp intervention group

EXPERIMENTAL

In addition to standard care, participants will be included into a peer support Whatsapp group on Whatsapp with other participants and trained peer supporters after study entry. Standard weekly prompt text messages will be sent to the group by peer supporters to encourage questions and discussion related to breastfeeding. Peer supporters will provide breastfeeding and emotional support. Intervention will last for 6 months after birth.

Behavioral: WhatsApp peer support

Control group

NO INTERVENTION

Participants in the control group will continue to receive standard care.

Interventions

WhatsApp peer supportBEHAVIORAL

Trained peer supporters will provide breastfeeding and emotional support for participants in the WhatsApp group.

Whatsapp intervention group

Eligibility Criteria

Age18 Years+
Sexfemale(Gender-based eligibility)
Gender Eligibility DetailsOnly female participants are included
Healthy VolunteersYes
Age GroupsAdult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

  • years of age or older
  • Primiparous
  • Intend to breastfeed
  • had a singleton pregnancy
  • had term infant (37-42 weeks gestation)
  • Cantonese speakers
  • Hong Kong residents
  • had no serious medical or obstetrical complications

You may not qualify if:

  • Infant is \<37 weeks gestation
  • Infant has an Apgar score \<8 at five minutes
  • Infant has a birthweight \<2500 grams
  • Infant has any severe medical conditions or congenital malformations
  • Infant is placed in the special care baby unit for more than 48 hours after birth
  • Infant is placed in the neonatal intensive care unit at any time after birth

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

Queen Mary Hospital

Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Location

Related Publications (10)

  • Premji S. Mobile health in maternal and newborn care: fuzzy logic. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2014 Jun;11(6):6494-503. doi: 10.3390/ijerph110606494.

    PMID: 25003177BACKGROUND

  • Lau Y, Htun TP, Tam WS, Klainin-Yobas P. Efficacy of e-technologies in improving breastfeeding outcomes among perinatal women: a meta-analysis. Matern Child Nutr. 2016 Jul;12(3):381-401. doi: 10.1111/mcn.12202. Epub 2015 Jul 21.

    PMID: 26194599BACKGROUND

  • Statista. Available from: www.statista.com Access date 20-11-2020

    BACKGROUND

  • Rovniak LS, Kong L, Hovell MF, Ding D, Sallis JF, Ray CA, Kraschnewski JL, Matthews SA, Kiser E, Chinchilli VM, George DR, Sciamanna CN. Engineering Online and In-Person Social Networks for Physical Activity: A Randomized Trial. Ann Behav Med. 2016 Dec;50(6):885-897. doi: 10.1007/s12160-016-9814-8.

    PMID: 27405724BACKGROUND

  • Ahmad N, Shariff ZM, Mukhtar F, Lye MS. Family-based intervention using face-to-face sessions and social media to improve Malay primary school children's adiposity: a randomized controlled field trial of the Malaysian REDUCE programme. Nutr J. 2018 Aug 2;17(1):74. doi: 10.1186/s12937-018-0379-1.

    PMID: 30071855BACKGROUND

  • Cheung YTD, Chan CHH, Ho KS, Fok WP, Conway M, Wong CKH, Li WHC, Wang MP, Lam TH. Effectiveness of WhatsApp online group discussion for smoking relapse prevention: protocol for a pragmatic randomized controlled trial. Addiction. 2020 Sep;115(9):1777-1785. doi: 10.1111/add.15027. Epub 2020 Mar 20.

    PMID: 32107817BACKGROUND

  • Byrnes HF, Miller BA, Grube JW, Bourdeau B, Buller DB, Wang-Schweig M, Woodall WG. Prevention of alcohol use in older teens: A randomized trial of an online family prevention program. Psychol Addict Behav. 2019 Feb;33(1):1-14. doi: 10.1037/adb0000442. Epub 2019 Jan 14.

    PMID: 30640504BACKGROUND

  • Department of Health. Breastfeeding Survey 2019. Available from: https://www.fhs.gov.hk/english/archive/files/reports/BF_survey_2019.pdf.

    BACKGROUND

  • Fan HSL, Ho MY, Ko RWT, Kwok JYY, Chau PH, Wong JYH, Wang MP, Lok KYW. Feasibility and effectiveness of WhatsApp online group on breastfeeding by peer counsellors: a single-blinded, open-label pilot randomized controlled study. Int Breastfeed J. 2022 Dec 22;17(1):91. doi: 10.1186/s13006-022-00535-z.

    PMID: 36544208DERIVED

  • Lok KY, Ko RW, Fan HS, Chau PH, Wong JY, Wang MP, Tsang V. Feasibility and Acceptability of an Online WhatsApp Support Group on Breastfeeding: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Res Protoc. 2022 Mar 9;11(3):e32338. doi: 10.2196/32338.

    PMID: 35262504DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Breast Feeding

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Feeding BehaviorBehavior

Study Officials

  • Kris Lok, PhD

    The University of Hong Kong

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
DOUBLE
Who Masked
CARE PROVIDER, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
Purpose
SUPPORTIVE CARE
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

March 25, 2021

First Posted

April 1, 2021

Study Start

March 5, 2021

Primary Completion

April 30, 2021

Study Completion

December 31, 2021

Last Updated

September 21, 2022

Record last verified: 2022-09

Locations

HK(1)