Effect of Education on the Awareness of Primigravida Couples toward Infant Care

Abstract

<strong><em>Background</em></strong><strong>:</strong> Infancy is one of the most critical stages of life, which requires parents to have adequate knowledge in order to provide careful nursing, attention and care for newborns. Given the importance of infant health, it is essential to teach proper child care techniques and principles to primigravida parents. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of education on the awareness of primigravida couples toward infant care.<br /> <strong><em>Methods</em></strong><strong>:</strong> This clinical trial was conducted on 50 couples in the healthcare centers affiliated to Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. Study tools were researcher-made questionnaires, and data analysis was performed in SPSS version 16 using analysis of variance (ANOVA).<br /> <strong><em>Results</em></strong><strong>:</strong> In this study, poor awareness of infant care was observed in the couples before training, which improved to moderate awareness after the educational sessions. Moreover, mean score of parental awareness significantly increased in mothers (P=0.005) and fathers (P=0.05) after the training.<br /> <strong><em>Conclusion:</em></strong> According to the results of this study, educational intervention could promote parental awareness in primigravida couples. Therefore, application of this method could help parents to provide nursing care for their newborns.