Perceptions on breastfeeding of mothers of premature infants in a neonatal unit

Ana Carla Barbosa Figueiredo, Heliana Helena de Moura Nunes, Valéria Regina Cavalcante dos Santos, Pilar Maria de Oliveira Moraes, Aurimery Gomes Chermont

Breastfeeding, Premature newborn, Neonatal unit.

Breastfeeding generates expectant feelings and is associated with the moment of discharge of preterm infants from neonatal units, in order to analyze the perceptions of mothers of preterm infants on the subject, the design of this research is supported. Method: Descriptive qualitative study, developed in the neonatal unit of a public maternity hospital in Belém do Pará, Brazil, with 30 mothers of preterm infants hospitalized from February to July 2022. Data were processed by the IRAMUTEQ software and analyzed from the perspective of the technique of content analysis. Results: from the corpus of interviews, the Iramuteq software generated five classes: premature birth, signs of readiness of the newborn, breastfeeding experience, maintenance of lactation and health education process to support breastfeeding. Conclusion: It is necessary to improve knowledge about the perception of mothers during the period of hospitalization of premature infants in neonatal units, in the perspective of an effective communication and interdisciplinary support incorporated not only in protocols, but also in the motherly experience.

Received: 16 Sep 2022, Received in revised form: 05 Oct 2022, Accepted: 10 Oct 2022, Available online: 19 Oct 2022

10.22161/ijaers.910.26