Effectiveness of the training model to increase the knowledge, attitude, and practice of traditional birth attendants about early initiation of breastfeeding in Bogor District, Indonesia

The proportion of women assisted by TBAs during delivery is still high. It is necessary to transform their role from delivery attendance to an agent of change to deliver health messages. One of the important health messages will be on Early Initiation of Breastfeeding (EIBF). The aims of this study is to determine the impact of TBA-Friendly Training model on TBAs’ knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) to enhance their role as agent of change in the EIBF practice. The quantitative approach used applied quasi-experimental design and a qualitative used Rapid Assessment Procedure (RAP). Results revealed that the training can enhance the KAP of EIBF among TBAs. TBAs who got the training have higher level of knowledge, attitude and practice than those who did not receive training (p value: 0.000). The qualitative findings that TBAs are happy and feel fortunate for being trained. More than half of the TBAs’ clients have good EIBF KAP, meaning that the TBAs are able to apply the skills trained and to promote EIBF practice. Findings of this study suggest that there should be a policy to adopt and use such a TBA-Friendly Training model for EIBF implementation.