Effectiveness of Lactation Counseling on Lactation Outcome among Primipara Mothers: A Pilot Study

Abstract Introduction  The World Health Organization encourages initiation of breastfeeding soon after birth, exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) for the first 6 months, and continued breastfeeding up to 2 years of age. Material and Methods  This pilot study was done on 30 primiparous women between 37 and 40 weeks of gestation. Mothers of intervention group were given lactation counseling using a module and a demo before delivery and face-to-face counseling for 3 days, whereas mothers of control group received routine care. Immediate initiation of breastfeeding and lactation outcome was measured using structured validated tools. Results  Significant difference was found at the initiation of breastfeeding between the groups ( t  = 8.529; p  < 0.001) and in the lactation outcome, which was observed by the infant breastfeeding observation tool on the third day ( Z  = –4.269), fourth day ( Z  = –4.681), and fifth day ( Z  = –4.667) at p  < 0.001 level. None of the babies of mothers who received lactation counseling and immediate initiation of breastfeeding had exaggerated jaundice whereas 53.33% of infants in the control group (group 1) developed exaggerated jaundice within the first 48 hours. All the babies of the intervention group were on EBF up to 6 months whereas only 46.66% of infants of the control group had EBF for the first 3 months and 40% in the 4th month and 20% in 5th and 6th month. Conclusion  Our research supports the need of lactation counseling for better initiation of breastfeeding and lactation.