The Impact of Counselor Assisted Telecounseling on The Success of Breastfeeding Moms and Baby Child Feeding

Abstract

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic on the island of Java, tele-counseling was a viable alternative for assisting breastfeeding mothers and Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF). Objective: This study aims to analyze the effectiveness of counseling assistance with telecounseling on the success of breastfeeding mothers and IYCF. Method: This study used a mixed method (explanatory sequential design) and was quasi-experimental with a one-group posttest design, exploring the experiences of 18 mothers receiving telecounseling from August to November 2021. Purposive sampling of 235 mothers provided the sample. Results: There is a relationship between maternal age (p = 0.031), work (p = 0.030), and telecounseling duration (p = 0.001) and breastfeeding success. There is a relationship between the duration of telecounseling (p = 0.000) and IYCF success. There is evidence of the effectiveness of telecounseling on breastfeeding success (p = 0.000) and IYCF success (p = 0.000). In the Binary Analysis of logistic regression, there is an influence of work (p = 0.038) on the success of breastfeeding.  There is a variable effect of work (p = 0.006) and telecounseling duration (p = 0000) on the success of IYCF. The results of the parameter significance test simultaneously demonstrated that IYCF was at 42.9% while all variables had a 24.29% influence on breastfeeding success. The qualitative themes on breastfeeding were expressing breast milk, using bottles or nipples, positioning and attachment, and lack of milk production, while the IYCF themes were weight, making food menus, and eating difficulty.  Conclusion: Tele-counseling is effective for the success of exclusive breastfeeding and IYCF, supported by the counselors’ competence to use media to increase insight.  Suggestion: Tele-counseling can be done using a smartphone as an alternative for assisting mothers in areas that are difficult to reach.