Evaluation of the effectiveness of the educational program based on the theory of planned behavior on knowledge, behavior and encouragement of breastfeeding in pregnant women referring to health centers

Background: Nowadays, mothers have ceased to breastfeed due to several factors and resort to bottle -feeding or other forms of complementary feeding for their children. This results in physical and emotional problems for children, and socio -economic harms in communitiesand education is one of the most important ways to promote breastfeeding.The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the educational program based on the theory of planned behavior on knowledge, behavior and encouragement to breastfeed in pregnant women.Materials and Methods: This study was quasi-experimental. The city was divided into 4 districts and 2clinics were randomly selected from each district. Then 100 pregnant women with inclusion criteria were selected and allocated to intervention and control groups randomly .The researcher held 4 training sessions (60 minutes) based on theory of planned behavior and behavioral objectives. Data collection tools were a researcher-made questionnaire and a breastfeeding checklist. The collected data were analyzed by usingspss/19software.Results: Findings showed that there was a significant difference in mean knowledge, perceived behavioral control, subjective norms and practice of breast feeding among women in the intervention and control groups after intervention (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in mean scores of attitude, behavioral intention and behavior between the two groups (p>0.05).Conclusion: The results showed that educational program based on theory of planned behavior to persuade pregnant women for breast feeding through the influence of certain structures had been effective. Therefore, we recommend implementing training programs based on Theory of Planned Behavior, in order to encourage pregnant women for breastfeeding.

Evaluation of the effectiveness of the educational program based on the theory of planned behavior on knowledge, behavior and encouragement of breastfeeding in pregnant women referring to health centers Keywords:

Theory of planned behavior , Breastfeeding , Education , knowledge , Encouragement , Behavior