Korean J Child Health Nurs.  2001 Oct;7(4):405-420.

The Effects of Phone Counseling on Maternal Role in Primiperous Mothers

• Kang SJ

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to identify the effect of phone counseling carried out to promote the role of the primiperous mothers. The data were collected from march 20 to may 30, 1998. The subjects for the study were the mothers of 60 first bon neonates admitted to and discharged from Sam-sung Medical Center's neonatal ward. Thirty subjects were assigned to the experimental group and thirty to the control group. A measure of maternal identity as well as level of self confidence in taking care of an infant after giving birth was taken. Informational supportive nursing was then provided to the mothers through phone counseling for a total of four times at 2~3 days, 7~8days, 12~13days and 18~1days after discharged. The level of self confidence in taking care of an infant was then remeasured. The control group was not provided with supportive nursing through phone counseling instead the level of confidence in taking care of an infant was measured at 3 weeks. Taking previous study documentary evidence into consideration the researcher developed a supportive nursing telephone counseling program that provided both informational and emotional support suitable to primiperous mothers. A semantic differential scale developed according to Osgood and translated and adapted by Koh Hyo-Jung was used as the maternal self identity measurement tool. The tool used to measure self confidence in taking care of infant was the developed by Bak Mi Suk which includes 13 items from Pharis's self confidence scale The data were analyzed using x2-test, t-test and paired t-test. The result of the study are as follows 1. First hypothesis The level of self confidence in taking care of an infant for the group of primiparas who received phone counseling in the postpartum period would be higher than that of the primiparas who did not receive phone counselling : As the experimental group's level of self confidence in taking care infants was significantly higher than that of the control group this hypothesis is accepted 2. Second hypothesis The level of maternal identity will be higher for the group of primiparas who received phone counseling than that of primiparas who did not received phone counseling As the experimental group's level of maternal identity was significantly higher than that of the control group this hypothesis is accepted In looking at the results of the study as a whole, it can be concluded that emotional and informational nursing support provided through phone counselling is an effective strategy in promoting the role of new mothers.

MeSH Terms

Counseling*
Humans
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Mothers*
Nursing
Parturition
Postpartum Period
Semantic Differential
Telephone
Child Health