Avaliação do aleitamento materno nos primeiros 60 dias após o parto: um estudo prospectivo

Abstract

Child development is a period in which intense changes occur, those changes are influenced by genetic and environmental factors. Among the essential environmental factors, there is feeding, with breast milk being the complete sustenance to nourish a child, once the benefits that it confers on the mother-child binomial are understood. Thus, the World Health Organization recommends exclusive breastfeeding up to six months and complementary up to two years. This study aims to assess the type of food offered to the child up to 60 days postpartum. This is a randomized, prospective and controlled trial, a clipping of the doctoral thesis entitled “Evaluation of postpartum supplementation with vitamin E on the concentration of retinol in maternal serum and milk”, composed of 36 women in attendance for the delivery in two public maternity hospitals in Natal/RN: Maternidade Escola Januário Cicco and Maternidade Municipal Arakén Irerê Pinto. Data collection took place between 2016 and 2017 and the participants were followed up to 60 days postpartum, through the application of a semi-structured form, where it was possible to obtain socioeconomic, demographic and nutritional information, in addition to the type of breastfeeding of the child. Differences were considered significant when p<0.05. Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) was prevalent throughout the postpartum follow-up in relation to the predominant breastfeeding (PBF). It is noteworthy that there was a decline in the percentage of women who continued exclusive breastfeeding as the age of the child increases, while there was a gradual increase in predominant breastfeeding, under the same conditions. At the end of the follow-up (60 days), the prevalence of EBF and PBF was 75% and 25%, respectively, in accordance with the recommendation of the World Health Organization. Thus, the importance of the mother's willingness to breastfeed is emphasized, in addition to a social and family support network, regarding the promotion and maintenance of exclusive breastfeeding.