The Efficacy Of Couples’ Classes In Increasing Breastmilk Expression And In Preventing Breast Engorgement Amid The Pandemic

Abstract

There are still obstacles to practicing exclusive breastfeeding. Issues often arise due to a lack of couples’ knowledge. A couple’s class during pregnancy can be a solution to this. This research aims to analyze the effectiveness of a couple’s class in increasing breastmilk expression and in preventing breast engorgement. This was a quasi-experiment with post-tests and a control group design. The population consists of pregnant women in the third trimester and their husbands who live in one house and who are willing to be examined. The number of samples of each group is 25 people that were chosen through the simple random sampling technique. Intervention groups participated in an online couple class and direct guidance once in the first week of giving birth and twice more during the neonatal period. Breastmilk expression and breast engorgement prevention were measured using a checklist. The exclusive breastfeeding in the first month was analyzed using a chi-square examination. The researcher analyzed the difference in breast engorgement between the control group and the treated group using chi-square. There were differences in exclusive breastfeeding between the two groups in the first month with a significance value of  0.034. There was a difference in breast engorgement prevention between the two groups with a significance value of 0.017. The couple’s classes were effective in increasing breastmilk expression and in preventing breast engorgement. The online classes were quite effective and efficient during the Covid-19 pandemic.