The Effects of a Newborn Care Education Program on Mothers' Self-Confidence, Care Knowledge, and Breastfeeding Behavior: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objective: To assess the effect of newborn care education programs on mothers' self-confidence, care knowledge, and exclusive breastfeeding behavior and anxiety.

Methods: We searched for intervention studies comparing newborn care education programs versus standard care for mothers in five comprehensive databases (July 2024). The risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration Risk of Bias Tool. The R software version 4.2.2 software was used to perform the meta-analysis on mothers' self-confidence, care knowledge, exclusive breastfeeding behavior, and anxiety, and the GRADE approach was used to evaluate the certainty of evidence.

Results: Twenty trials involving 6136 mothers were included. The results of meta-analysis revealed that newborn care education program improved mothers' confidence scores (SMD = 1.25, 95% CI: [0.22, 2.28], p < 0.05), care knowledge level scores (SMD = 1.05, 95% CI: [-0.00, 2.09], p < 0.05), the frequency of exclusive breastfeeding (RR = 1.15, 95% CI: [1.10, 1.20], p < 0.05), and significantly decreased anxiety scores (SMD = -0.40, 95% CI: [-0.73, -0.07], p < 0.05) than standard care programs.

Conclusion: Our evidence supports the benefits of newborn care education programs in improving mothers' self-confidence, care knowledge, exclusive breastfeeding behavior (optimal duration of more than 6 months), and reducing anxiety. Newborn care education program is beneficial to mothers both in behaviors and psychology state of taking care of newborn. It is recommended conducting more well-designed intervention with large samples to verify current findings.