Family and Educational Factors That Influence Breastfeeding

Abstract

Breastfeeding motivates the promotion of breastfeeding, which is done through health education at an early stage, since prenatal care, being exclusive for six months. The objective of this research is to analyze, through scientific studies, how family factors and health education influence the lactating woman during the breastfeeding period. This work is a qualitative, descriptive and exploratory literature review. Studies show that emotional factors related to the mother, education levels and her own personality may induce her to give up breastfeeding early or may be poorly motivated to breastfeed. It is important to talk with parents and family members present in the context of the breastfeeding woman about the importance of forming the baby's affective bond through breastfeeding and that this is more intense between mother and baby when breastfeeding is maintained for longer. Therefore, the personal and economic experiences of this family must be considered, since this can facilitate or hinder the health education process. Thus, the lactating woman and the family must be listened to and concerns considered by health professionals. So, for women to have greater motivation to sustain breastfeeding, a combination of factors is needed, such as effective health education adapted to the family reality.