Investigating the Effect of Remote Counseling of Husbands on Social Support of Spouse and Postpartum Quality of Life in Primiparous Women

Background and Objective: Poor and insufficient social support to the mother in the postpartum period can seriously impact their quality of life. Remote counseling for husbands can be considered a cost-effective and available method. The present study aimed to assess the effect of remote counseling of husbands on their postpartum wives' quality of life and social support. Materials and Methods: This randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted on 122 pregnant mothers who were referred to comprehensive health centers in Qazvin for five months, from the beginning of March 2021 to the end of July 2022. Participants in both intervention and control groups completed a demographic information questionnaire, Postpartum Social Support Questionnaire, Maternal Postpartum Quality of Life Questionnaire, and Postpartum Fatigue Scale on days 3, 10, and 30 after delivery. In the intervention group, the spouses of pregnant mothers received counseling individually through the virtual network. Data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 24) using repeated measurements analysis of the covariance model. The significance level was considered to be 0.05. Results: The spouse's social support in the postpartum period was significantly higher in the intervention group than in the control group in all follow-ups. The effect size of the intervention based on the standardized mean difference was strong during all three follow-up times (standardized mean difference equal to 0.62, 0.74, and 0.72 on days 3, 10, and 30 after delivery, respectively). In addition, the postpartum quality of life scores in both groups increased over time, and the mean quality of life in the intervention group was significantly higher in all follow-up measurements compared to the control. Conclusion: As evidenced by the results of this study, remote counseling and training of spouses improved social support and the quality of life of postpartum women.