Life Science Journal 2012;9(4) http://www.lifesciencesite.com 3188 The effect of breastfeeding educational program on breastfeeding condition Shirin Hasanpoor 1 , Somayeh Ansari 2 *, Soheila Bani 3 , and Hossien Ebrahimi 4 1 MSc in midwifery, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran. 2 MSc in midwifery, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Ahvaz University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran. 3 MSc in midwifery, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran. 4 PhD in Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran *Corresponding Author: midvifery_arshad@yahoo.com Abstract: Breastfeeding has long been recognized as the preferred method of feeding in the first year of life and W.H.O has recommended exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months. Despite the clear benefits of breastfeeding to mother and infant, breastfeeding rates today continue to remain below of recommended level in many countries. Research has shown that mothers’ information about advantages of breastfeeding may be one of the predictor factors affecting breastfeeding, so this study has been done with objective of determination the effect of breastfeeding educational program on breastfeeding condition. A Quasi-Experimental study design was used to test the effect of breastfeeding educational program on exclusive breastfeeding duration. A convenience sample of 120 pregnant women referred to health centers of Ahvaz were selected and divided randomly in two groups. All women were primiparus and indicated their intent to breastfeed their infant. In their last month of pregnancy case group received breastfeeding educational program. Six month after delivery breastfeeding condition in two groups was determined by researchers. Findings of this study showed that the difference between means of exclusive breastfeeding duration between the two groups was statistically significant. The mean duration of exclusive breastfeeding was 5.2 month in case group compared to 2.05 for control group. The results of this study suggested that breastfeeding education in last trimester of pregnancy may increase the duration of breastfeeding and it seems that compilation of educational program in prenatal care of pregnant women is necessary. [Shirin Hasanpoor, Somayeh Ansari, Soheila Bani, and Hossien Ebrahimi. The effect of breastfeeding educational program on breastfeeding condition. Life Sci J 2012;9(4):3188-3192]. (ISSN: 1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite.com. 468 Key word: education, breastfeeding, pregnant women Introduction Breastfeeding is one of the most important methods in children's health improvement and a basic strategy in providing children's survival and growth in society. The positive effects of breastfeeding on children's growth and development, as well as on mothers' health, are known for many years and it is noticed by the world health organization, UNICEF, and all scientific communities in the world. (1, 2). The world health organization recommends that children should continue exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months of their lives and then, along with complementary nutrition, continue it for 2 years. (3, 4). Different statistics show that in developing countries, due to not using mother's milk, the infant mortality rate is one child every 30 seconds and 1.5 million children every year. In these countries, 70 percent of infant mortality is due to not using mother's milk. Although the evidences show that the advantages of breastfeeding for human infant increases by increasing the duration of breastfeeding and exclusive breastfeeding, most women stop breastfeeding while only a few of them do that because of physical problems (6). With regard to the importance of breastfeeding in disease prevention and its advantages for mother and child, stopping breastfeeding, especially in first six months of the child's life, will be disadvantageous for the mother, the child, and the society. Many studies are done about exclusive breastfeeding, all of which show that breastfeeding rates and exclusive breastfeeding are still way far from fulfilling the world health organization's recommendations (7). Despite the fact that 96 percent of the mothers tended to breastfeed their children, the recent study in Japan showed that only 44 percent of them had exclusive breastfeeding for the first four weeks after childbirth and also less than 35 percent of Canadian mothers and 29 percent of American mothers had exclusive breastfeeding for 4 months (6). Although the ministry of health and medical education in Iran considers the promotion of breastfeeding as one of the important strategies for children's survival and growth and took some effective steps in that field, the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding is very low. According to the last study done in Iran and titled "Reviewing the