MumBubConnect: Using Mobile Technology to Support Breastfeeding Mothers

MumBubConnect

Project dates: 2008 - 2012

MumBubConnect is a world-first social marketing campaign that provides two-way automated SMS, social media and online infant-feeding support to new mothers. This service provides a well-accepted, personalised support service that empowers women to actively resolve breastfeeding issues.

The challenge was to increase breastfeeding confidence in women and achieve breastfeeding rates higher than the national average, utilising a non-education based campaign with tangible support for women as they breastfeed. To solve this challenge, a grant application by the Australian Breastfeeding Association and Queensland University of Technology to the Gambling Community Benefits Fund in 2008 led to research funding to develop and pilot a digital-based social marketing campaign. Following an exploratory phase of five focus groups with 29 women, the MumBubConnect intervention was piloted with 120 women (only 114 completed the second survey) and involved an automated two-way SMS service delivered once a week for 8 weeks. The pilot was a success.

Guiding Theory:

  • Self-Efficacy
  • Social Support Theory

Funding / Grants

  • Funding provided by the Queensland Gambling Community Benefit Fund to the Australian Breastfeeding Association (2010 - 2012)

Other Team Members

  • Andre La Porte
  • Robyn Hamilton

Partners

Publications

  • Russell-Bennett, Rebekah, Gallegos, Danielle, Previte, Josephine (2012) Overcoming barriers through new technology : support via text messaging. In Thorley, V, Clark Vickers, M (Eds.), The 10th step and beyond: mother support for breastfeeding, pp.183-194.
  • Gallegos, Danielle, Russell-Bennett, Rebekah, Previte, Josephine, Parkinson, Joy (2014) Can a text message a week improve breastfeeding?. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 14, pp.Article number: 374 1-11.
  • Russell-Bennett, Rebekah, Gallegos, Danielle, Previte, Josephine, Hamilton, Robyn (2014) Case study: Using social cognitive theory and social support coping theory to improve breastfeeding duration rates: MumBubConnect. In Aleti, T, Binney, W, Parker, L, Nguyen, D, Brennan, L (Eds.), Social marketing and behaviour change: Models, theory and applications, pp.66-74.