Aleitamento materno em crianças menores de dois anos em São Luís- MA: estudo de coorte

Abstract

Breastfeeding is the isolated strategy with the greatest impact on reducing child mortality. The heterogeneity of the indicators between cities of a State, and even between different regions of the country, reinforcing the importance of local researches. This study aimed to analyze breastfeeding in a birth cohort in children under 2 years of age in São Luís-MA. This is a cross-sectional study that started in 2010 with data collected through interviews with 3,306 mothers. The data analyzed through the software STATA 12.0. The chi-square test and logistic regression were used to verify statistical significance between exclusive breastfeeding under 6 months and the characteristics studied. We calculated the adjusted odds ratio (OR) and its respective confidence intervals of 95%. Prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding until the sixth month of life was 42.97%. The factors that remained associated to exclusive breastfeeding under 6 months in the adjusted analysis were: caucasian (OR = 1.50; IC95%: 1.12-2.02), do not have a partner (OR = 1.22; IC95%: 1.00- 1.48), have a gainful occupation (OR = 1.33; IC95%: 1.12-1.58), alcohol consumption during pregnancy (OR = 1.33; IC95%: 1.04-1.69), smoking during pregnancy (OR = 1.80; IC95%: 1.04-3.11), have not planned the pregnancy (OR = 1.19; IC95%: 1.00- 1.41) and the use of pacifiers (OR = 3.02; IC95%: 2.46-3.71). Several aspects may influence breastfeeding and its duration. In this study, the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding under 2 years in São Luís was good, but the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding under 6 months was low. These findings provide the possibility to develop more specific actions to act with ”most vulnerable” mothers, paying them more attention, in order to stimulate breastfeeding for longer periods, improving breastfeeding rates and consequently reducing child morbidity and mortality in Brazil.