ABSTRACT
This quasi-experiment was undertaken to assess, in an unbiased fashion, whether or not introducing a home-based telelink increases the duration of breastfeeding for up to two months among mothers who start exclusive breastfeeding. The aim of the study was not to promote the initiation of breastfeeding. The results show that the telelink alone was not responsible for increasing the duration when given to primiparous mothers who breastfed from birth. Both of the mothers in the telelink group stated that they had used the machinery, but judged that it was unsightly and had limited portability. They also reported that they had difficulty in positioning themselves and their baby in front of the machinery. More importantly, communication through the machine was extremely difficult in that the sound quality was poor and the picture often became erratic if either party moved at all. These difficulties meant that meaningful communication by means of the link became torturous and both mothers disliked using the machine.
