BREASTFEEDING: FROM A PAINFUL TO A PLEASURABLE EXPERIENCE – AN HEALTHCARE TEAMWORK

INTRODUCTION: Breastfeeding is considered one of the fundamental pillars for the promotion and protection of children‘s health. The WHO recommends it exclusively to the sixth month of life (and preferably, as supplement, up to two years), because of its benefits for the baby and mother’s health and welfare. However, this experience isn’t always easy, often supported by health professionals, who must be properly prepared. CASE REPORT: Woman, 29 years old. G1P0, high-risk pregnancy, didn’t attend preparation classes for childbirth. Term pregnancy, eutocit birth, newborn with IUGR. Choice of exclusive breastfeeding. After two weeks, she comes to the Family Physician, referring she wants to stop breastfeeding because it had become a painful experience, with painful breasts and cracked nipples, and also because her daughter cried easily. It was established a multidisciplinary teamwork (between doctor and family nurse), with a monitoring plan for teaching and promoting breastfeeding. The main goal was the learning, development, training attitudes and skills to breastfeeding practice. The mother regularly returned to the Health Unit to strengthen education and observation of the effectiveness of techniques taught. After a few days, it was visible on mother’s face the pleasure of breastfeeding again, and also on daughter’s one, who increased weight properly. CONCLUSION: The decision to breastfeed is personal, subject to a multidimensional factors that influence a woman‘s life. This case highlights how the success of breastfeeding often involves the intervention of health professionals, in order to achieve a successful establishment of breastfeeding.