Mobile Prenatal Education for Expectant Fathers and Its Effects on Bonding, Stress, Breastfeeding and Marital Satisfaction

December 16, 2025 updated by: Sebahat Kuşlu, Gaziantep Islam Science and Technology University

The aim of this interventional clinical trial is to assess whether a mobile-based antenatal education programme for expectant fathers has a positive effect on father-infant bonding, stress levels, and breastfeeding attitudes.

The study aims to answer the following main questions:

Does participation in a mobile-based prenatal education programme strengthen fathers' emotional bonds with their babies? Does the education reduce fathers' stress levels during the prenatal and postnatal periods? Does it increase the father's knowledge and supportive attitude towards breastfeeding? Researchers will compare whether there are measurable differences in attachment, stress, and breastfeeding attitudes between the intervention group (fathers receiving mobile-based education) and the control group (fathers receiving standard routine information).

Participants: Will complete pre- and post-intervention questionnaires assessing attachment, stress, and breastfeeding attitudes.

The intervention group will have access to a six-module mobile application covering topics such as infant care, nutrition, sleep routines, health and safety, emotional development, and daily care practices.

The study will be conducted with fathers aged 19-65 who became fathers within the last month and voluntarily agreed to participate.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This interventional clinical trial aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a mobile-based prenatal education programme designed specifically for expectant fathers. The programme aims to strengthen father-infant bonding, reduce paternal stress levels during the prenatal and early postnatal periods, and enhance fathers' knowledge and supportive attitudes related to breastfeeding.

The study is grounded in the increasing scientific evidence demonstrating that fathers play an important role in maternal-infant health, emotional bonding, family cohesion, and early childhood development. Despite this, fathers frequently receive limited antenatal education and often feel unprepared for infant care, breastfeeding support, and the psychological transition to fatherhood. Mobile health (mHealth) technologies provide accessible, cost-effective, and father-friendly educational opportunities that help reduce participation barriers.

In this trial, participants will be randomly assigned to either an intervention group or a control group. Fathers in the intervention group will have access to a six-module mobile application that offers structured prenatal education. The modules cover infant care, nutrition and feeding, sleep routines, health and safety practices, emotional and social development, and daily care skills. The educational content is designed to support cognitive, emotional, and behavioural readiness for fatherhood and to enhance fathers' confidence in newborn care.

Participants in both groups will complete pre- and post-intervention questionnaires assessing father-infant bonding, stress levels, and breastfeeding attitudes. The intervention group will complete the post-test after engaging with the mobile application, while the control group will receive routine standard information and complete the same assessments during the same time periods. Differences between the two groups will be analysed to determine whether the mobile-based education leads to significant improvements in psychological and behavioural outcomes.

The study will be conducted with fathers aged 19-65 who have become fathers within the past month and who voluntarily agree to participate. Exclusion criteria include lack of smartphone access, inability to use mobile applications, or unwillingness to complete the questionnaires.

This trial is expected to contribute to the development of evidence-based perinatal care interventions that enhance paternal involvement within the domain of women's health nursing, support family-centred care models, and promote practices that strengthen maternal and infant health.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

80

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age between 19 and 65 years
  • First-time father
  • Has become a father within the last month
  • Has a healthy newborn without congenital anomalies or chronic illnesses
  • Does not have a premature or low-birth-weight baby
  • Has not become a father through adoption
  • Owns a mobile phone capable of accessing the mobile-based application
  • Has an Android or iOS operating system
  • Has not received any infant care training within the last 6 months
  • Has no physical or mental disability that would prevent viewing, hearing, or understanding the research questions or educational content
  • Voluntarily agrees to participate in the research

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Declines to participate in the research
  • Does not own a smartphone
  • Cannot use mobile applications
  • Has a physical or mental condition that prevents completing the questionnaires
  • Has a baby with congenital anomalies or chronic medical conditions
  • Has a premature or low-birth-weight baby
  • Has received infant care training within the last 6 months
  • Has adopted a child
  • Is outside the 19-65 age range

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Mobile-Based Prenatal Education for Expectant Fathers
Fathers in this arm will receive access to a six-module mobile-based prenatal education programme covering infant care, nutrition and feeding, sleep routines, health and safety practices, emotional and social development, and daily care skills. They will complete pre- and post-intervention questionnaires on father-infant bonding, stress levels, and breastfeeding attitudes.
Behavioral: Mobile-based application

The intervention is a six-module mobile-based training programme developed specifically for expectant fathers.

The modules cover baby care, nutrition, sleep patterns, health and safety, emotional development and daily care.

The aim is to strengthen the father-baby bond, reduce stress levels and develop a positive attitude towards breastfeeding.
No Intervention: Standard Routine Information for Expectant Fathers
Fathers in this arm will receive standard routine information provided in usual care. They will not have access to the mobile-based education programme. They will complete the same pre- and post-intervention questionnaires on father-infant bonding, stress levels, and breastfeeding attitudes during the same time intervals as the intervention group.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Paternal Stress Levels
Time Frame: Baseline (Day 1) and Post-Intervention (8 weeks after baseline)
Paternal stress levels measured using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-State Subscale). A total score of 0-19 indicates no anxiety, a total score of 20-39 indicates mild anxiety, a total score of 40-59 indicates moderate anxiety, and a total score of 60-79 indicates severe anxiety. A total score of 60 or above indicates that the individual requires professional help.
Baseline (Day 1) and Post-Intervention (8 weeks after baseline)
Change in Father-Infant Bonding
Time Frame: Baseline (Day 1) and Post-Intervention (8 weeks after baseline)
Father-infant bonding measured using the Father-Infant Bonding Scale. High scores on the scale indicate a high level of attachment.
Baseline (Day 1) and Post-Intervention (8 weeks after baseline)
Change in Breastfeeding Attitudes and Participation
Time Frame: Baseline (Day 1) and Post-Intervention (8 weeks after baseline)
Fathers' attitudes and participation related to breastfeeding measured using the Fathers' Breastfeeding Attitude and Participation Scale. The total score under the sub-dimension of Fathers' Attitude Towards Breastfeeding ranges from 14 to 70, and the cut-off point for the scale is 58. The total score under the sub-dimension of Fathers' Participation in Breastfeeding ranges from 14 to 70, and the cut-off point for the scale is 58. High scores indicate high attitude and participation.
Baseline (Day 1) and Post-Intervention (8 weeks after baseline)
Change in Marital Satisfaction Levels
Time Frame: Baseline (Day 1) and Post-Intervention (8 weeks after baseline)
Marital satisfaction measured using the Marital Satisfaction Scale. The total score that can be obtained from the scale, which consists of a single subscale, ranges from 12 to 60 points. There are no reverse items on the scale. An increase in the score obtained from the scale indicates a high level of marital satisfaction.
Baseline (Day 1) and Post-Intervention (8 weeks after baseline)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Gaziantep Islam Science and Technology University

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Sebahat Kuşlu, MSc, Gaziantep Islam Science and Technology University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

January 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

August 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

October 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

November 19, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

December 16, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

December 19, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

December 19, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

December 16, 2025

Last Verified

December 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • Ethical Approval: 582.45.13

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

The ethics committee, confidentiality or national legislation deem sharing inappropriate.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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