Exclusive breastfeeding practices reported by mothers and the introduction of additional liquids

Authors

  • Alessandra Marcuz de Souza Campos Universidade Estadual de Campinas; Faculdade de Enfermagem; Universidade Estadual de Campinas
  • Camila de Oliveira Chaoul Universidade Estadual de Campinas; Faculdade de Enfermagem; Universidade Estadual de Campinas
  • Elenice Valentim Carmona Universidade Estadual de Campinas; Faculdade de Enfermagem; Universidade Estadual de Campinas
  • Rosângela Higa Universidade Estadual de Campinas; Centro de Atenção Integral à Saúde da Mulher; Universidade Estadual de Campinas
  • Ianê Nogueira do Vale Universidade Estadual de Campinas; Faculdade de Enfermagem; Universidade Estadual de Campinas

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1590/0104-1169.0141.2553

Abstract

Aim: To assess the concept of exclusive breastfeeding held by nursing women by comparing the period they consider that they perform it and the infants' age at the introduction of additional liquids. METHOD: Cross-sectional descriptive study conducted with 309 women who delivered babies at a university hospital in the interior of São Paulo, Brazil. The data were subjected to descriptive analysis; the variables of interest were crossed using the non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test, the chi-square test and Fisher's exact test. RESULTS: Approximately 30% of the women reported having introduced additional liquids before the infants reached aged six months old, while asserting that they were performing exclusive breastfeeding. The following variables were associated with early introduction of liquids: lack of employment (p = 0.0386), younger maternal age (p = 0.0159) and first pregnancy (p = 0.003). CONCLUSION: The concept of exclusive breastfeeding might not be fully clear to women, as they seem to believe that it means not to feed the children other types of milk but that giving other liquids is allowed. These results show that promotion of breastfeeding should take beliefs and values into consideration to achieve effective dialogue and understanding with mothers.

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Published

2015-04-01

Issue

Vol. 23 No. 2 (2015)

Section

Original Articles

License

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Including names of authors whose contribution does not fit into the above criteria cannot be justified. Those names can be included in the Acknowledgements section.
 Authors are fully responsible for the concepts disseminated in their manuscripts, which do not necessarily reflect the editors’ and editorial board’s opinion.

 

How to Cite

Exclusive breastfeeding practices reported by mothers and the introduction of additional liquids . (2015). Revista Latino-Americana De Enfermagem, 23(2), 283-290. https://doi.org/10.1590/0104-1169.0141.2553