Breast feeding in a population attended by the family health program - FHP

Abstract

This study aimed to identify the prevalence of different types of breastfeeding and how they relate to maternal variables in the municipality of Conchas, São Paulo, Brazil, which is fully covered by the family health program. We collected information about the current eating habits of children under one year old who were attended during the 2003 Multivaccination Campaign. Associations were submitted to the chi-square test, adopting p<0.05 as the critical level. The prevalence rates for exclusive breastfeeding (EB) and predominant breastfeeding (PB) in 4-month-olds and younger were 25.4% and 44.4%, respectively, and 66.7% of the children under one were still being breastfed. Prevalence for EB in 6-month-olds and younger was heterogeneous, ranging from 7.4 to 41.2% according to the children's region of origin in the FHP. Difficulties at the beginning of breastfeeding were associated with lower prevalence rates for EB and PB. These results show a situation far from WHO recommendations and from that situation in which there is evidence that children's health receives maximum protection, reiterate the need to support mothers in the early puerperal period and demonstrate the importance of diagnoses separated per regions for actions aimed at promoting breastfeeding.