Effectiveness of WeChat for Improving Exclusive Breastfeeding in Huzhu County China: Randomized Controlled Trial.

The benefits of breastfeeding for both infants and mothers have been well recognized. However, the exclusive breastfeeding rate in China is low and decreasing. Mobile technologies have rapidly developed; communication apps such as WeChat (one of the largest social networking platforms in China) are widely used and have the potential to conveniently improve health behaviors. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of using WeChat to improve breastfeeding practices. This 2-arm randomized controlled trial was conducted among pregnant women from May 2019 to April 2020 in Huzhu County, Qinghai Province, China. Pregnant women were eligible to participate if they were aged 18 years or older, were 11 to 37 weeks pregnant with a singleton fetus, had no known illness that could limit breastfeeding after childbirth, used WeChat through their smartphone, and had access to the internet. A total of 344 pregnant women were recruited at baseline, with 170 in the intervention group and 174 in the control group. Women in the intervention group received breastfeeding knowledge and promotion information weekly through a WeChat official account from their third month of pregnancy to 6 months postpartum. The primary outcome of exclusive and predominant breastfeeding rate was measured 0-1 month, 2-3 months, and 4-5 months postpartum. At 0-1 month postpartum, the exclusive breastfeeding rate was significantly higher in the intervention group than that in the control group (81.1% vs 63.3%; odds ratio [OR] 2.75, 95% CI 1.58-4.78; P<.001). Similarly, mothers in the intervention group were more likely to provide predominantly breast milk (OR 2.77, 95% CI 1.55-4.96; P<.001) and less likely to give dairy products to their children (OR 0.40, 95% CI 0.21-0.75; P=.005). There was no statistically significant difference for exclusive breastfeeding rate 2-3 months (P=.09) and 4-5 months postpartum (P=.27), though more children in the intervention group were exclusively breastfed than those in the control group 2-3 months postpartum (intervention: 111/152, 73.0%; control: 96/152, 63.2%) and 4-5 months postpartum(intervention: 50/108, 46.3%; control: 46/109, 42.2%). This study is the first effort to promote exclusive breastfeeding through WeChat in China, which proved to be an effective method of promoting exclusive breastfeeding in early life. WeChat health education can be used in addition to local breastfeeding promotion programs. Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR1800017364; http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=29325. RR2-10.1186/s12889-019-7676-2.

Wu Q ，Huang Y ，Liao Z ，van Velthoven MH ，Wang W ，Zhang Y ... -  《JOURNAL OF MEDICAL INTERNET RESEARCH》

The effectiveness of using a WeChat account to improve exclusive breastfeeding in Huzhu County Qinghai Province, China: protocol for a randomized control trial.

Wu Q ，Huang Y ，van Velthoven MH ，Wang W ，Chang S ，Zhang Y ... -  《BMC PUBLIC HEALTH》

WeChat-based intervention to support breastfeeding for Chinese mothers: protocol of a randomised controlled trial.

Tang L ，Lee AH ，Binns CW ，Duan L ，Liu Y ，Li C ... -  《BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making》

Feasibility of using WeChat to improve infant and young child feeding in rural areas in China: A mixed quantitative and qualitative study.

Wu Q ，Huang Y ，Helena van Velthoven M ，Wang W ，Chang S ，Zhang Y ... -  《PLoS One》

Effectiveness of a breastfeeding promotion intervention model based on Society ecosystems Theory for maternal women: a study protocol of randomized controlled trial.

Ouyang YQ ，Zhou J ，Guo JY ，Wang SY ，Wang X ，Zhou-Chen YB ，Redding SR ，Chen HJ ... -  《Reproductive Health》