Intervention
Training was performed for intervention group in Skype. While the control group received only routine care. Training involved 4 online sessions of 45 to 90 min in Skype, held weekly (one session per week) by the researcher. Due to the different nature of education on natural childbirth and cesarean section, the women in the intervention group were divided according to the type of delivery (32 women who were supposed to have a normal delivery were in 4 groups of 8, and 18 women who were going to deliver their baby by a cesarean section were in 3 groups of 6). Topics of training sessions included: first session: the importance of maternal health in the postpartum period and the importance of social support for the mother in this period, second session: anatomical and physiological changes in the postpartum period, the impact of these changes on the mothers mental state, and the way she should be cared for, third session: baby care, the principles of breastfeeding and how to deal with its challenges, fourth session: the father’s responsibilities in the postpartum period and his supportive role in helping mothers adapt to changes (Interventional group educational content sessions are available in Additional file Socio-demographic characteristics of the intervention and control groups*Independent t-test, ** Fisher’s exact test, *** chi-square testThe educational content was prepared by referring to the available library resources and with the guidance of supervisors and consultants and also based on the instructions and guidelines of the Iranian Ministry of Health. The validity of the educational content was evaluated qualitatively and approved by 10 relevant experts and faculty members related to the subject under study, including four reproductive health specialists, one midwifery specialists, three gynecologists and two psychologists. Each week after the review session, the content was presented in text, video and audio formats to the intervention group until the next session. Meetings were held upon agreement of the husbands. Each week, the researcher reminded the audience of the time of the training sessions by phone and text messages. In addition, the intervention group provided access to the researcher to ask questions via WhatsApp. Immediately and one month after completing the intervention (i.e., the fourth and eighth weeks after delivery), the questionnaire was completed by primiparous women online. In the end, in order to observe the ethical considerations, the educational materials were provided to the control group.