Exercise Program to Increase Breast Milk

Effect of Exercise Program to Increase Breast Milk on Breastfeeding Self-efficacy, Breastfeeding Success and Breast Milk Quantity: A Randomized Controlled Trial

In this study, the effects of an exercise program aimed at increasing breast milk on breastfeeding self-efficacy, breastfeeding success, and breast milk quantity will be evaluated.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Maternal Behavior; Breast Milk Expression; Breastfeeding, Exclusive
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Exercise group

Detailed Description

The research is a randomized controlled trial. The research will be conducted with 122 mothers who are in their 8th week postpartum and have healthy babies. Mothers in the exercise group will be given 1 hour (60 minutes) of exercise to increase breast milk three times a week for 6 weeks. The control group will be given routine breastfeeding education. Data will be collected using a sociodemographic form, Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale-Short Form (BSES-SF), LATCH- Breastfeeding Charting system, IMDAT: a tool for assessing the level of maternal milk intake scale.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 122
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Turkey
  • Konya, Turkey, 42250
    • Seyhan Çankaya

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Those who are over 18 years old,
• Who gave birth at term pregnancy (38-42 weeks),
• Who have a healthy baby,
• Who are between 8 weeks postpartum.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Those with diagnosed mental illness (e.g., antidepressants, antianxiety or antipsychotic medications),
• Those with chronic systemic illnesses,
• Those with physical illnesses that may prevent them from exercising,
• Those with any postpartum complications (hemorrhage, postpartum infection, mastitis, thromboembolic disease or postpartum psychiatric disorder).

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Placebo group; Mothers in the control group will not exercise and will receive routine breastfeeding counseling. In the 8th and 14th weeks after birth, mothers will be subjected to; Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale-Short Form (BSES-SF), LATCH- Breastfeeding Charting system, IMDAT: a tool for assessing the level of maternal milk intake scales.
Experimental: Intervention Group; Primiparous mothers assigned to the exercise group will attend classes in groups of 8-10. Mothers will be given 1 hour (120 minutes) of exercises to increase breast milk three times a week for 6 weeks. The total training time is 18 hours. Each session will include 60 minutes of warm-up and stretching exercises and 30 minutes of relaxation exercises.	Behavioral: Exercise group; Primiparous mothers assigned to the exercise group will attend classes in groups of 8-10. Mothers will be given 1 hour (120 minutes) of exercises to increase breast milk three times a week for 6 weeks. The total training time is 18 hours. Each session will include 60 minutes of warm-up and stretching exercises and 30 minutes of relaxation exercises. Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale-Short Form (BSES-SF), LATCH-Breastfeeding Record System, IMDAT: Breast milk intake level assessment tool scales will be applied to mothers before exercise (8th week after birth) and after exercise (14th week).

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Comparison of mothers' sociodemographic characteristics with survey before intervention	Mothers' sociodemographic characteristics will be collected through surveys and compared and reported	3 months
Comparison of mothers' Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale averages by groups	Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale will be applied to mothers. Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale is 14-70 points (min-max) and as the score increases, it shows that mothers' breastfeeding self-sufficiency increases.	3 months
Comparison of mothers' LATCH- Breastfeeding Charting system averages by groups	LATCH- Breastfeeding Charting system will be applied to mothers. LATCH- Breastfeeding Charting system is 0-10 points (min-max) and as the score increases, it shows that the mothers' LATCH score increases.	3 months
Comparison of mothers' IMDAT: a tool for assessing the level of maternal milk intake averages by group.	IMDAT will be applied to mothers. IMDAT is 0-10 points (min-max) and the higher the score, the better the intake of breast milk.	3 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Selcuk University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 1, 2025
• Primary Completion (Actual): March 1, 2025
• Study Completion (Actual): March 1, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 1, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 4, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): December 9, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 25, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 19, 2025
• Last Verified: March 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Breastfeeding problems; Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale; Breast Milk Quantity
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2024/1172

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No