Association between the Brazilian Breastfeeding Network implementation and breastfeeding indicators

• Published in: Jornal de pediatria 2015-03, Vol.91 (2), p.143-151
• Main Authors: Danusa S. Brandão, Sonia I. Venancio, Elsa R.J. Giugliani
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0021-7557

Objective: To estimate the association between the implementation of the Brazilian Breastfeeding Network and prevalence of breastfeeding in a medium-size city in southern Brazil. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study involving 405 children under 1 year who participated in the second phase of the multivaccination campaign in 2012. Children's consumption of food on the day before the interview was obtained through interviews with mothers or guardians. The manager and one health professional from every health facility that joined the Network were interviewed in order to investigate the process of implementation of this initiative. The association between prevalence of breastfeeding and exclusive breastfeeding and adherence to the Network implementation process was tested using Poisson regression with robust variance. Results: Multivariate analysis revealed that among the children assisted by health facilities who joined the Network and those attending services that did not adhere to this strategy, the prevalence of breastfeeding (74% and 70.4% among children under 1 year, respectively) and exclusive breastfeeding (43.3% and 38.1% among children under 6 months, respectively) did not differ significantly. Difficulties in implementing the Network, such as high turnover of professionals, not meeting the criteria for accreditation, and insufficient participation of tutors in the process were identified. Conclusion: Contrary to the hypothesis of this study, there was no significant association between the implementation of the Brazilian Breastfeeding Network and prevalence of breastfeeding and exclusive breastfeeding in the studied city. It is possible that the difficulties found in implementing the Network in this city have influenced this result. Resumo: Objetivo: Estimar a associação entre a implementação da Rede Amamenta Brasil e as prevalências de aleitamento materno (AM) em um município de médio porte do sul do Brasil. Métodos: Estudo transversal envolvendo 405 crianças menores de um ano que participaram da segunda fase da campanha de multivacinação de 2012. O consumo de alimentos pela criança no dia anterior à entrevista foi obtido mediante entrevistas com as mães ou responsáveis. Para investigar o processo de implementação da Rede foram entrevistados o gerente e um profissional de saúde de cada unidade que aderiu a esse processo. A associação entre as prevalências de AM e AM exclusivo (AME) e a adesão ao processo de implementação da Rede foi testada uti