Promotion of breastfeeding: Benefits of participation pregnant in groups in health education

The aim of this study was to analyze the practice and perception of benefits breastfeeding among pregnant women that take part of a preventive and education program and to compare who did not participate. It was performed a retrospective survey. Group I was composed by 56 women who participated of the program between 2006 - 2010, having children that were 6 to 36 months, and Group II included the same number, with similar characteristics, but who not had any participation. It was used a semi-structured questionnaire during interviews, conducted at home, by an examiner. Qualitative analysis was conducted using the content categorization method. The breastfeeding rate in Group I (96.4%) was higher than Group II (80.4%) (p = 0.007). The number of mothers with breastfeeding difficulties was lower in group I (28.6%) than in group II (34.7%). There was association between participation of program and breastfeeding practice. The Group II reported that there were no benefits for mothers while group I pointed the maternal bond. The main reasons for weaning were the child's age for the group I e the need to back to work for the group II. It was concluded that there was difference between studied groups. The health educational activities are effective and should be encouraged and used as a strategy to promote infant health.