Khadijeh Hekmat, Samaneh Orak, Parvaneh Mousavi, Mohammad Hossein Haghayeghi, Parviz Askari

Abstract

Background and aims: The known benefits of breastfeeding have led to the creation of health policies on promoting feeding with breast milk. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of cognitive-behavioral therapy consulting on the beginning and continuity of breastfeeding in twins. Materials and Methods: In this clinical trial study, 40 pregnant women were selected through purposeful sampling and randomly divided into two groups of the test (20) and control (20). The test group participated in eight cognitive-behavioral therapy sessions every week. The control group received only routine care. Data were collected and analyzed using SPSS software (version 25). Results: The average time period of breastfeeding in each time (min) showed significant difference in the intervention and control groups (P <0.001). The average age of infant at the time of beginning the feeding by artificial milk in intervention and control groups was (18 ± 45.33) and (20 ± 1.9) in the firstborn and (18 ± 42.5) and (20 ± 1.9) in the second-born, respectively, which was significantly different (P <0.001).) Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, it seems that cognitive-behavioral therapy is effective in the beginning and continuity of breastfeeding in twins‎.