Breastfeeding practices in the city of Iguatu-CE

Objective: To assess breastfeeding practices in Family Health Strategy. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional quantitative study conducted in Family Health Units of the urban area of Iguatu-CE, Brazil, from August 2008 to May 2009. Participants were 402 mothers with children under six months of age who underwent prenatal consultations. We used a form with questions regarding breastfeeding, breastfeeding difficulties, introducing other foods, infant nutrition, consultations prenatal and postpartum visits undertaken by staff. The data were entered into SPSS 16.0 and analyzed descriptively. Results: Among the mothers interviewed (402), most said that was breastfeeding babies (N = 343, 85.3%), but introduced other food (N = 252, 62.6%), verifying low prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding. Of the 252 women who reported offering other food to baby, 158 (62.7%) offered on their own, followed by those who chose to follow the indication of relatives and neighbors (N = 63, 25%). Conclusions: The study revealed that mothers of the Family Health Units from Iguatu-EC did not breastfeed their children exclusively, but with the introduction of other foods (other milk, porridge), thereby demonstrating the low prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding.