The effect of individualized baby care education given by video conference during pregnancy on anxiety and baby care self-confidence of primiparous mothers

Objective: This study was conducted to investigate the effects of individualized infant care training given to pregnant women who are 34 weeks and older and giving birth for the first time via video conference on mothers' anxiety and infant care self-confidence. Materials and Methods: In a randomized controlled experimental study, primiparous pregnant women living in Kuşadası district, aged 19-39 years and 34⁰⁻⁷-40⁰⁻⁶ weeks of gestation were included in the sample. Data were collected from pregnant women who came to the Gynecology and Obstetrics outpatient clinic of Kuşadası State Hospital between October 23, 2023 and October 28, 2024. Pregnant women in the study group (n=33) were given one-on-one, 40-minute sessions of video conference on baby care according to their needs. After the education, the education content was shared with the pregnant women via WhatsApp application. Pregnant women in the control group (n=33) received routine prenatal and postnatal care and education. Pregnant Women Identification Form, Baby Information Form, Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and Pharis Self-Confidence Scale (PSS) were used to collect data. In the evaluation of the data, independent samples t test, Mann-Whitney U test, Chi-Square Independence Analysis and Spearman correlation analysis were used. The value of p<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The postpartum PSS scores of the pregnant women who received baby care training via video conference were found to be higher and the BAI scores were lower compared to the control group (p<0.001). The BAI scores of the pregnant women who gave birth vaginally in the study group were found to be significantly higher than those who gave birth by cesarean section (p<0.05). The PSS scores of the pregnant women with baby care experience in the study group were found to be significantly higher than those without experience (p<0.05). Conclusion: In this study, it was found that receiving individualized baby care training during pregnancy via video conferencing increased the self-confidence of mothers and reduced their anxiety. Having experience in baby care increases maternal self-confidence. Keywords: Anxiety, Infant, Infant Care, Self Confidence, Videoconferencing