Resumo

TAKUSHI, Sueli Aparecida Moreira; TANAKA, Ana Cristina d'Andretta; GALLO, Paulo Rogério  e  MACHADO, Maria Aparecida Miranda de Paula. Motivating breastfeeding among expectant mothers. Rev. Nutr. [online]. 2008, vol.21, n.5, pp. 491-502. ISSN 1415-5273.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1415-52732008000500002.

OBJECTIVE: The present study sought to discover the reasons for expectant mothers to breastfeed. METHODS: This was a qualitative study involving 164 expectant mothers attending prenatal care in two health centers of the city of São Paulo. Semi-structured interviews were done to collect data on the reasons to breastfeed. The information was organized in a spreadsheet to search for categories. RESULTS: The main identified categories regarded the child's and woman's health and the benefits of breastfeeding and breast milk. The majority of the women (98.8%) regarded breastfeeding favorably. Benefit to the child's health was the reason mentioned most often (73.8%). CONCLUSION: Motivation to breastfeed was based on benefits to the child's health. Breastfeeding is valued regardless of the mother's will.

Palavras-chave : Breast feeding; Maternal behavior; Prenatal care.