Background & aim: Postpartum care is an important factor in improving mothers' performance. Considering the COVID-19 outbreak, one effective strategy for improving postpartum midwifery services is participation-based health promotion training. This study was conducted with aim to assess the impact of educational empowerment for key supporters on promoting mental health and perceived social support.
Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 178 women in the third trimester of pregnancy in Bojnurd, Iran, in 2020-2021. Sampling was performed in several stages. First, the health centers in Bojnurd were classified into two clusters. Subsequently, three centers from each cluster were randomly selected for the intervention groups, and three for the standard care groups. From each cluster, 100 individuals were included in the intervention group and 100 in the standard care group. Four sessions of self-care training were conducted for mothers, their husbands, and key supporters. Perceived social support and postpartum depression scales were completed at two and eight weeks postpartum. The data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 23.0).
Results: The perceived social support was higher in the intervention group two weeks after delivery than in the standard care group (P=0.380), but there was no significant difference between them at eight weeks after delivery (P=0.938). Also, the reduction in postpartum depression was significant in the intervention group (p=0.013), but there was no significant difference between the two groups after the intervention.
Conclusion: Empowering key supporters and husbands is a critical principle in promoting perceived social support and mental health that should receive special attention in postpartum protocols.