CHILD CARE IMPORTANCE TO ENCOURAGING BREAST FEEDING : REPORT OF EXPERIENCE

Introduction and objective: Breast feeding encouragement is important because breast milk is ideal food for the baby, for health and development, due to the nutritional, immunological advantages, favoring the mother-child relationship; but many mothers during first pregnancy still have difficulty breast feeding because they don’t have the protruding nipple and not being educated properly during prenatal care by health professionals. The objective of this work is demonstrate the importance of education of nipple stimulation by professionals to encourage breast feeding. Methods: In a Basic Health Unit (BHU) in Fortaleza, Brazil, second-year medical students experienced an opportunity to observe and take part in medical consultations. After the observation period, they met with BHU doctors reflecting on the outcomes of their experience. Results and Conclusion: During the UBS visit, one consultation was a mother-craft one, whose patient was a 7 month old girl, in the company of her parents. During consultation, the child's mother told the nurse that, although she also had another kid, that was the first time she breastfed, because, during her first pregnancy, the doctor didn't teach her how to correctly stimulate the nipple, so she wasn’t prepared to breastfeed. During the second pregnancy, however, she was well oriented by a nurse, and then she could breastfeed. Thus, it is possible to note that child care plays a key-role in medical practice and its devaluation or inadequate performance may result in serious harm to patients; simple actions such as guidance on the proper way of breastfeeding is vital.