<![CDATA[Low exclusive breastfeeding coverage remains closely linked to limited family support and sociocultural influences in infant feeding decisions. In Batak communities, strong kinship structures position the extended family as a key decision-making unit during pregnancy and early childcare. This community engagement program employed a participatory family-based intervention using a one-group pretest–posttest design to empower families to support exclusive breastfeeding through a culturally grounded Mambosuri approach in the Gunung Tinggi Primary Health Care area. The program involved 32 third-trimester pregnant women and their families over a three-month period. The intervention integrated cultural reflection sessions, interactive family discussions, written commitment development, and pre–post evaluation of family knowledge. Findings showed a significant increase in mean knowledge scores from 62.4 to 84.7 (p < 0.001), as well as an increase in the proportion of the good comprehension category from 37.5% to 81.2%. The most notable improvement was observed in fathers’ perceived roles in breastfeeding support. However, the short duration of assistance and the absence of a control group limit broader generalization of the findings. These results suggest that integrating local cultural values into family-centered education may strengthen collective readiness for exclusive breastfeeding in similar community contexts.]]>
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