Abstract
Objective
To analyze the association between the type of breastfeeding and the difficulties related to this practice among women and children assisted in a clinic specialized in breastfeeding.
Methods
Cross-sectional retrospective study based on the analysis of medical records of women and children assisted in a clinic specialized in breastfeeding from 2004 to 2016. Medical records of women with multiple pregnancies and documents registered as nonstandard forms were excluded, which resulted in a sample with 1,608 records. The chi-square, nonparametric Mann-Whitney, and nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis tests were applied to compare the type of breastfeeding with categorical variables, frequency of exclusive breastfeeding, and days of life and maternal age, respectively.
Results
Exclusive breastfeeding was practiced by 72.6% of the assisted women in the first 30 days after childbirth. There was a significant association between this practice and the following difficulties: maternal perception regarding the volume of produced milk, full breasts before breastfeeding, milk leakage, and easy manual milk extraction; proper positioning of mother and child, latch, suction, and swallowing by the child; in addition to the following characteristics: higher level of education; stable marital status; previous experience with breastfeeding; protruding nipples; early skin-to-skin contact with the child; and children with a lower average number of days of life and who used pacifiers.
Conclusion
Exclusive breastfeeding prevailed in the first 30 days after childbirth and several maternal and neonatal variables were associated with this practice in the first appointment in the specialized clinic.
Breast feeding; Weaning; Milk banks; Health promotion; Public policy