Práticas de apoio das avós à amamentação: revisão integrativa

"Breast milk is important": what do nursing mothers in Fortaleza think about breastfeeding?

Abstract Objectives: to analyze the meaning of breastfeeding for nursing mothers, users of the public health network in Fortaleza city, Ceará. Methods: a cross-sectional study was carried out with nursing mothers from nine health units. The data were collected through the application of a socioeconomic and health questionnaire and the Word Free Association Test, using "breastfeeding" as an induced stimulus. The terms referred to in the Word Free Association Test were grouped into categories and analyzed by the EVOC 2000 ®software, which showed the results in a fourcell table, where the categories were distributed according to the level of meaning to the mothers. Results: the sample consisted of 279 nursing mothers. More than 60% of these women referred in receiving guidance on breastfeeding in prenatal, puerperal and childcare consultations, and 68% of them reported having no difficulties in breastfeeding. The most significant categories identified by the Word Free Association Test were: Milk, Important, Health, and Love. Conclusions: for the nursing mothers, breastfeeding is an important practice, represented by the breast milk itself, which is permeated by positive meanings. Knowing these meanings helps to understand the factors associated to early weaning, making it possible to reconstruct care directed to this public.

Influence of grandmothers on exclusive breastfeeding: cross-sectional study

Objective

To evaluate the influence of grandmothers of infants on exclusive breastfeeding, from their perspective.

Methods

A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out with 91 women from a hospital in the inland state of São Paulo. By means of a questionnaire, the following data were collected: sociodemographic data of the grandmother, mother and child; duration of exclusive breastfeeding of daughter or daughter-in-law; information on kinship of participant and grandchild; kind of help provided by grandmother; and knowledge about breastfeeding.

Results

The prevalence of infants on exclusive breastfeeding at two months was 35.17%; a total of 67.3% of grandmothers considered it important to give food to babies before six months of life, and 54% considered relevant breastfeeding at regular intervals. Moreover, 40% believed in weak milk and were not aware of signs of sufficient breast milk. Of the grandmothers interviewed, 69% had already offered tea and water to their grandchildren. In the univariate analysis, the maternal grandmother was more involved and close to the pair mother and child.

Conclusion

The presence of grandmothers influences in exclusive breastfeeding.

[Breastfeeding and complications that contribute to early weaning]

OBJECTIVE

To obtain knowledge on the experience of mothers about breastfeeding and events that contribute to early weaning.

METHOD

Research descriptive and exploratory kind with a qualitative approach carried out in a unit of the Family Health Strategy in the city of Cáceres-MT, through semi-structured interviews with 21 women who gave birth from January / 2012 to January / 2014.

RESULTS

The data showed that at six months only 19.1% of the children were still being exclusively breastfed and the main explanations for this were: Lack of knowledge, inexperience / insecurity; Underestimation of maternal distress; Complications of puerperal breast; Family interference; Weak / inadequate milk; maternal employment.

CONCLUSION

The study reinforced the need for adjustments in the current care model, surpassing applicability of predefined techniques, encouraging critical judgment and perception of health professionals regarding the the construction of new knowledge and behaviors.