Social representations of a group of nourishers on the support for the breastfeeding process / Representações sociais de um grupo de nutrizes sobre o apoio no processo de amamentação

AUTOR(ES)
DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

2008

RESUMO

The low exclusive breastfeeding rates suggest the lack of structure to provide effective support for the woman to have conditions to choose and decide regarding to the beginning and the duration of breastfeeding. In our perception, there is a dissonance between the instituted support and the womens expected support. In that way, it was questioned what is the support for breastfeeding, how the woman/nourisher interprets the action support of her social network and what the most relevant elements are for her. It was considered that the definition of breastfeeding support lacks clearness and consensus. It was questioned if the support to the woman in the breastfeeding process may be considered a socioculturally built phenomenon and its practical nature influenced by mechanisms of communication existent in society. This way, we elected the presupposed in Social Representations to make us know the representatives of a group of nourishers on the support to breastfeed and to identify the support actions of the social surrounding, which can be received and perceived by them in the breastfeeding process. The place of study was Centro de Saúde Escola Samuel Barnsley Pessoa (CSE Butantã-SP). The fourteen women who attended it were in the breastfeeding process, whose children were up to six months old, approached at the pediatric and child welfare sectors of the service aforementioned. Data was obtained through interview and organized according to the purpose of Collective Subject, which offered the construction of six discourses that represented the womens perceptions and turns to their experiences in breastfeeding, focusing on the received and perceived support in the hospital, family and professional contexts. From the study outcomes, it was seen that support is a phenomenon of great extension, made of aspects of promotion, protection and encouragement to breastfeeding. Regarding to the actions to support breastfeeding, according to womens perspectives, its possible to understand support in three dimensions: instrumental, affective and structural. The instrumental dimension, in the hospital context, concerns to practical and informative elements on managing breastfeeding. In the family context, the instrumental dimension is mainly related to the financial support and help on household chores, allowing women to dedicate more time to the baby and breastfeeding. The affective dimension involves elements of interpersonal relationship, in the public and private contexts, focusing on the way support is offered. The structural dimension concerns to the actions of social context regarding to the salaried job. There is no gratitude of support to breastfeeding offered by society; instead, there are obstacles to be overcome for its value in the professional setting, as working women or mothers. The needs expressed by women represent a challenge to review the practices for all of those involved in promotion, protection and support to breastfeeding; therefore, healthcare services should provide actions based on womens perception in seeking a partnership with the family network and also the integration with the social facilities available

ASSUNTO(S)

breastfeeding apoio social amamentação social support saúde da mulher woman s health

ACESSO AO ARTIGO

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