Social influences on the feeding practices of the mother-child couple in the first six months of lifeThe mother-child pair is inserted in a social system that generates different influences on eating practices, including in the first six months of life, a period in which exclusive breastfeeding is recommended by the World Health Organization.
Objective: To understand the set of social influences that affect the eating habits adopted by the nursing mother and her child in the first six months of life.
Method: Qualitative study, with a methodological analysis approach described by Minayo and based on the social phenomenology of Alfred Schütz. Eight mother-child pairs recruited from two public hospitals in Salvador-BA with the Amigo da Criança Hospital Initiative participated. A semi-structured interview was carried out at the mothers' homes when the child was six months old, from June to August 2019.
Results: Three typifications emerged: doing “correctly” in the first six months of the child's life; care actions with the feeding practices of the woman-mother who breastfeeds; and the social world of the mother-son duo.
Conclusion: For decision-making about the nursing mother's eating practices, the mother exerted more influence; for the child, the nursing mother considered the guidelines received by health professionals.
Keywords:
Social Network; Infant Feeding; Maternal feeding; Breastfeeding