Effect of Breastfeeding Education and Support Provided to Male Partners on Optimal Breastfeeding Practice in Ethiopia

NCT05173454 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: RP 0896/11
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 408
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Optimal breastfeeding practices are essential for child survival, growth, development, and for the health of mothers. Globally, optimal breastfeeding practices are still low and breastfeeding practices are not optimal in Ethiopia. Male partners have an important but often neglected role in the promotion of breastfeeding practices and currently, male partners are not targeted in breastfeeding education provided by health care providers. The effect of breastfeeding interventions delivered to male partners on optimal breastfeeding has not been studied in the Ethiopian context. It is important to investigate breastfeeding promotion education and support provided to male partners compared to the usual care effective in improving optimal breastfeeding practice in lactating mothers. Therefore, in this study cluster-randomized controlled trials will be conducted to evaluate the effect of breastfeeding education and support provided to male partners on optimal breastfeeding practice in Ethiopia.

Conditions

Breastfeeding; Breast Fed; Breast Feeding, Exclusive; Breastfed; Breastfeeding, Exclusive

Keywords

optimal breastfeeding practice; male partner; education and support; Ethiopia

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Optimal breastfeeding practice

  Mothers will be asked about infant breastfeeding practice includes early initiation of breastfeeding, breastfeeding frequently (24-h recall), exclusive breastfeeding (24-h recall), intended duration of breastfeeding, pre-lacteal feeding, and feeding colostrum. The infant breastfeeding practice scores will be summed to give a total score that could range between 0 and 6. The infant breastfeeding practice scores will be then classified as Poor (0-2), Medium (3-4), or Good (5-6). When the study participants have scored the highest tertiles (good) of infant breastfeeding practice scores will be considered as optimal breastfeeding practices.

  at 6 months

Secondary Outcomes (4)

• Paternal knowledge, attitude and Supportive practice on optimal breastfeeding

  Baseline and at month 6

• Maternal breastfeeding self-efficacy

  Baseline and at month 6

• Prevalence of child morbidity

  at 6

• Maternal Perceptions on male partners' breastfeeding Support

  Baseline and at month 6

Study Arms (2)

Breastfeeding Education and Support

EXPERIMENTAL

The intervention arm will receive antenatal and postnatal breastfeeding education and support intervention for six months starting in their third trimester pregnancy period. The intervention package is comprised of four components: Antenatal breastfeeding education, providing specific take-home print materials, Telephone call counseling and Individual home visit.

Behavioral: Breastfeeding Education and Support

Usual or routine care

NO INTERVENTION

The routine care will be continued in the control group.

Interventions

Breastfeeding Education and Support BEHAVIORAL

The trained village health workers will provide breastfeeding education and support for male partners and mothers in intervention group for the six month period. During intervention trained village health workers will cover antenatal breastfeeding education to raise knowledge, awareness, support, and counseling on benefits of optimal breastfeeding practices and involvement in supporting breastfeeding mothers once at third trimester pregnancy period; Specific take-home print materials will be developed that support optimal breastfeeding practices and will be given for both partners during third trimester pregnancy; Telephone call counselling will be held to the male partners on optimal breastfeeding practices and involvement in supporting breastfeeding mothers at second week and third month postpartum and there will be three home visits during 6th week, 3.5 month and 5th month.

Breastfeeding Education and Support

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 15 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Male partner and mother being in the third trimester of pregnancy
• Male partner and Healthy mother with no underlying disease.
• Male partner and Healthy mother with no pregnancy complication.
• Male partner who live with their wives at home or maintain regular communication with them.
• Partners capable of giving informed consent
• Partners living in the selected cluster with no plans to move away during the intervention period

You may not qualify if:

• Mother who experienced a pregnancy loss (miscarriage, still birth, neonatal death) during the follow up period
• Mother had serious medical problems
• Couples who divorced or separated or migrated out of the study area during the intervention
• Mother with twins birth
• Infants admitted to neonatal intensive care units at birth

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Jimma University: lead
• Nestlé Foundation: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Hadiya Zone

Awasa, Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region, Ethiopia

Location

Related Publications (2)

• Abageda M, Jena BH, Belachew T. Effect of Male Partner-Targeted Breastfeeding Education and Support Interventions on Optimal Breastfeeding Practices in Central Ethiopia: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial. Matern Child Nutr. 2025 Apr;21(2):e13764. doi: 10.1111/mcn.13764. Epub 2024 Nov 18.

  PMID: 39558214 DERIVED

• Abageda M, Jena BH, Belachew T. Effectiveness of male partner-targeted breastfeeding education and support interventions on mothers' breastfeeding self-efficacy in central Ethiopia: a cluster-randomized controlled trial. Sci Rep. 2024 Aug 9;14(1):18563. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-68032-3.

  PMID: 39122804 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Breast Feeding

Interventions

Palliative Care

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Feeding Behavior; Behavior

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Patient Care; Therapeutics; Health Services; Health Care Facilities Workforce and Services

Study Officials

• Mulatu A Anamo, MSc

  Wachemo University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Tefera B Lema, PhD

  Jimma University

  STUDY DIRECTOR

• Mubarek Abera, PhD

  Jimma University

  STUDY DIRECTOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Masking Details: The intervention will be single-blinded. The outcome assessors will be masked.
• Purpose: HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal Investigator

Model Details: The study will have two arms, i.e., intervention and control groups. The intervention group will receive antenatal and postnatal breastfeeding education and support and control group will receive routine care.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: December 4, 2021
• First Posted: December 30, 2021
• Study Start: July 14, 2022
• Primary Completion: October 25, 2023
• Study Completion: October 30, 2023
• Last Updated: November 14, 2023

Record last verified: 2023-11

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP, ICF, CSR

Locations

ET (1)