The Effect of Educational Empowerment of Key Supporters on Promoting Perceived Social <span lang="EN-GB">Support and Postpartum Depression Women in the perinatal period: A Quasi-Experimental <span lang="EN-GB">Study

Background & aim: Postpartum care is an important factor in improving mothers' performance. One effective strategy for improving postpartum services is participatory-based health promotion training. This study was conducted to assess the of educational empowerment for key supporters and women on promoting perceived social support and postpartum Depression.Methods: A quasi-experimental study design was conducted from July۲۰۲۰ until February ۲۰۲۱ in Bojnurd, Iran. For Sampling First, the health centers were classified into two clusters. Subsequently, three centers from each cluster were randomly selected for the intervention and standard care groups. From each cluster following attrition, the analysis was conducted on ۸۸ mothers in the intervention group and ۹۰ motrers in the Standard care group. Four online sessions (Third trimester,۱,۷-۱۴,۲۱-۳۰ days after delivery)of self-care training were conducted for mothers, their husbands, and key supporters(mother and sister)The duration of each session varied from ۳۰ to ۱۰۰ minutes, depending on the participants’ needs.Hopkins Perceived social support and Edinburgh postpartum depression scales were completed at two and eight weeks postpartum.Data were analyzed using the the independent t-test.Results: The perceived social support was higher in the intervention group two weeks after delivery than in the standard care group (P=۰.۳۸۰), but there was no significant difference between them at eight weeks after delivery (P=۰.۹۳۸). Also, the reduction in postpartum depression was significant in the intervention group (P=۰.۰۱۳), but there was no significant difference between the two groups after the intervention.Conclusion: Empowering key supporters and husbands is a critical principle in promoting perceived social support and mental health that should receive special attention in postpartum protocols.

کلیدواژه ها:

Empowerment ، Perceived social support ، Postpartum Depression ، Postpartum