Breastfeeding and Acute Diarrhea Among Children Enrolled in the Family Health Strategy

Abstract

This study's objectives were to identify the prevalence of breastfeeding in children younger than 12 months of age enrolled in the Family Health Strategy and identify cases of reported acute diarrhea, associating them with breastfeeding categories and factors that interfere in the practice of breastfeeding. This descriptive and cross-sectional study, based on statistical analysis, was conducted with 854 children living in a municipality in Northeastern Brazil. The prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding among children under six months of age was 32%. Exclusively breastfed children under the age of six months were less likely to experience diarrhea compared to mixed-breastfeeding children. Children using pacifiers, bottles or consuming water were less likely to be breastfed, while those consuming porridge were more likely to experience diarrhea. Strategies to promote, protect and support breastfeeding require continuous improvement, especially in regard to factors leading to early weaning, in order to achieve better indicators and improve prevention of acute diarrhea and promote child health. DESCRIPTORS:Child. Breastfeeding. Acute diarrhea. ALEITAMENTO MATERNO E DIARREIA AGUDA ENTRE CRIANÇASCADASTRADAS NA ESTRATÉGIA SAÚDE DA FAMÍLIA RESUMO: Os objetivos foram identificar a prevalência do aleitamento materno em crianças menores de 12 meses cadastradas na Estratégia Saúde da Família, e identificar os casos de diarreia aguda notificados associando aos tipos de aleitamento materno e aos fatores que interferem nessa prática. Estudo descritivo, transversal, realizado nos domicílios com 854 crianças, em município do Nordeste brasileiro, com análise estatística dos dados. A prevalência do aleitamento materno exclusivo entre menores de seis meses foi de 32%. Crianças menores de seis meses amamentadas exclusivamente tiveram menos chance de apresentar diarreia do que as em aleitamento misto. As que usaram chupeta, mamadeira e água tiveram menos chance de serem amamentadas. As que usaram mingau tiveram mais chance de ter diarreia. Estratégias de promoção, proteção e apoio ao aleitamento materno necessitam contínuo aprimoramento, especialmente nos fatores do desmame precoce, buscando melhores indicadores e maior impacto na prevenção contra diarreia aguda e promoção da saúde infantil. DESCRITORES:Criança. Aleitamento Materno. Diarreia aguda. AMAMANTAMIENTO MATERNO Y DIARREA AGUDA ENTRE NIÑOS REGISTRADOS EN LA ESTRATEGIA SALUD DE LA FAMILIA RESUMEN:Los objetivos fueron identificar la prevalencia del amamantamiento materno en menores de 12 meses registrados en la Estrategia Salud de la Familia, identificando los casos de diarrea aguda notificados asociándolos a los tipos de amamantamiento y a factores que interfieren esta práctica. Estudio descriptivo, transversal, realizado en domicilios con 854 niños, en municipio del Nordeste brasileño, con análisis estadístico de datos. La prevalencia del amamantamiento materno exclusivo entre menores de seis meses fue 32%. Niños menores de seis meses amamantados exclusivamente tuvi...

Child feeding practices and diarrheal disease among children less than two years of age of the nomadic people in Hadaleala District, Afar Region, Northeast Ethiopia

“…Diarrhea was more common among children who didn’t start breastfeeding within one hour immediately after birth and among children who didn’t maintain breastfeeding at the time of the survey. Other studies also reported similar findings with this study [ 19 , 28 , 43 ]. This might be due to the fact that children who didn’t start breastfeeding within one hour after birth and didn’t maintain breastfeeding may fail to get the benefits of colostrum, which is rich by minerals and vitamins.…”

“…The prevalence seen in this study is higher than the national prevalence, which was 23–25% [ 4 ]. The magnitude of childhood diarrheal disease reported by this study is also higher than the prevalence reported in three different regions of Ethiopia; Tigray (17%), Amhara (18%) and Oromiya (25%) [ 6 ] and studies done in northeastern Brazil (22.9%) [ 28 ] and Saudi Arabia (24%) [ 29 ]. The high incidence in the current study might be attributed to the difference in the sociodemographic, environmental, and behavioral characteristics of households and the nomadic nature of the population.…”

The association between infant and young child feeding practices and diarrhoea in Tanzanian children

“…Previous studies reported that continued breastfeeding at 1 year and bottle feeding were associated with an increased likelihood of the child to experience diarrhoea [ 10 , 25 ]. Importantly, the impact of continued breastfeeding and bottle feeding on diarrhoea could be attributed to the introduction of contaminated complementary food/water or use of a contaminated bottle with a teat or nipple given the age intervals used in assessing those indicators correspond to a time when the infant has commenced complementary foods [ 10 , 43 , 49 ]. Similarly, the WHO considers bottle feeding as a breastfeeding indicator because of the association between bottle feeding and increased diarrhoeal morbidity and mortality [ 32 , 37 ].…”

Autoeficácia do aleitamento materno em puérperas de uma maternidade pública do nordeste brasileiro

“…Já o AM continuado até o segundo ano manteve-se estável entre 1986 e 2006, sendo o único indicador com aumento da prevalência entre 2006 e 2013 (4) . A prevalência do AME em menores de 6 meses foi de 42,9% em São Luís, capital do Maranhão (5) , em pesquisa realizada em 2015, e pesquisa anterior realizada em Imperatriz (MA) mostrara prevalência do AME em menores de 6 meses de 32% (6) .…”