Natural feeding in the first year of life: a challenge for the Nurse Practitioner in a primary care center.

Abstract

Exclusive Direct Breastfeeding (EDBF) or natural feeding is the ideal infant feeding.
The WHO recommends that infants be exclusively breastfed until 6 months of life, incorporating semi-solid foods of nutritional value until one year of life, as a complement to Direct Breastfeeding (DB).
Regarding breastfeeding, the problem is not exclusive to the low-income population; 47% of children are weaned before 6 months of life. With percentages that include mothers in the public subsector at 3 months and in the private subsector at 4, 5 months.
In 2001, a diagnostic survey was carried out on the health status of all children under one year of age at CAP N°1, which showed, among other problems: inadequate promotion of breastfeeding, with incidental interventions and without multiprofessional coordination, and early abandonment of natural feeding by mothers, with percentages similar to those found at national and international level.
The present work aims to show a comparative analysis in two periods of Breastfeeding, in two populations with similar characteristics, belonging to the same first level health care center, by means of the educational intervention strategy carried out by the Nursing Professional, within the framework of the multiprofessional team and the Mother and Child program of the CAP N°1.
This is a two-stage comparative cross-sectional study.
The study population is made up of two groups: 1) mothers and their newborns between July 1 and December 31, 2001, characterized by the fact that they did not participate in the intervention plan. 2) mothers and their newborns in the period between July 1 and December 31, 2002, who were included in the intervention plan.
Group 1 year 2001, July, December - N = 32. Group 2 year 2002, July, December - N = 38.
Among the conclusions, it should be noted that: Although the starting point of both populations (2001-2002) begin with percentages close to 100% in relation to SCI, observing the results of the research work we can conclude that SCI in the framework of a systematic intervention plan of recruitment and follow-up, coordinated with the multiprofessional team, improves the overall percentages and the prolongation in time of the same. The results of the second population (SCI. 68% at 3 months, 63.1% at 6 months, 52.6% at 9 months and 42% at 12 months).
The discussion highlights that: Although the sample can be considered small for the generalization of the results, it is no less true that the figure of the Nursing Professional, due to his training, generates the necessary coordinations and standards with the multiprofessional team to establish the lines of work. These lines, due to the professional's systematic and methodical approach, allow conclusions to be drawn, which will be the basis of the standards to be adopted year after year for the program of continuous improvement of health care services.