Perception of mothers in relation to breastfeeding in the postpartum period

Abstract

Introduction: In order to achieve breastfeeding efficiency, World Health Organization proposes education of mothers during pregnancy by health care professionals. Objective: To observe the perceptions of mothers regarding breastfeeding. Methods: Descriptive quantitative study following exploratory technique. Research was carried out at the Centro de Saúde Escola Capuava in Santo André, São Paulo, Brazil. The population consisted of 29 mothers submitted to the first postpartum visit. Results: The mean age of mothers was 26 years and the mean number of children was 1.8. Most of them are married or have stable union (93.1%) and completed high school (62.1%). A total of 51.7% are currently employed; 58.6% had cesarean section. Most (69.0%) of newborns were breastfed in the delivery room. Of mothers, 79.3% have protruding nipples, and 55.2% showed no fissures; 37.9% did not have any care regarding nipple cleaning, the remaining used various procedures, most commonly breast milk alone (17.2%) and ointment alone (13.8%). The frequency of breastfeeding was quite variable. Of newborns 89.3% presented correct latch. Of mothers, 96.6% reported receiving all the necessary information in the prenatal and postpartum; 44.8% intend to early introduce pacifier for their newborn. Conclusion: The instructions given during pregnancy and postpartum become important and gradually produce positive results, it is worth emphasizing that the nurse becomes a key part in achieving the guidelines during pregnancy and postpartum periods.