Effectiveness of the SETIA (Self Empowering Woman, Empathy, Trust, Intimate and Affection) program in enhancing exclusive breastfeeding in Indonesia

Abstract

The sustainability of breastfeeding remains a challenge for primiparous mothers. Empowering women through home visits by midwives needs to be enhanced to ensure the continuity of breastfeeding. This research aimed to compare the effectiveness of the SETIA (Self-Empowering Women, Empathy, Trust, Intimacy, and Affection) program with a standard program in assisting primiparous mothers to breastfeed their babies after one month. A total of 50 primiparous participants were divided into two groups through simple random sampling. The standard group received four home visits, while the SETIA group received five home visits within one month postpartum. The breastfeeding competency variable was evaluated after one month using the World Health Organization (WHO) instruments and interviews about exclusive breastfeeding. The variables were analyzed using comparative statistics. The results showed no significant difference between the standard and SETIA groups, with Mann-Whitney U values of 253.5 and Wilcoxon values of 578.5 (p-value=0.086, α<0.05). However, there is evidence that the intervention group managed breastfeeding problems better, and more mothers continued breastfeeding after one month. Therefore, the authors suggest more frequent home visits to help new mothers adapt to their breastfeeding roles, especially in the first week after birth. Further research is needed to assess exclusive breastfeeding after six months in both groups.