Duração do aleitamento materno em menores de dois anos de idade em Itupeva, São Paulo, Brasil: há diferenças entre os grupos sociais? Breast feeding duration in children under two years of age in Itupeva, São Paulo, Brazil: are there differences among social groups?

Abstract

OBJETIVOS: conhecer a duração do aleitamento materno (AM) total e os determinantes associados à sua interrupção segundo perfis de reprodução social das famílias (formas de trabalhar e viver), fundamentados na teoria da determinação social do processo saúde-doença. MÉTODOS: estudo transversal conduzido em uma amostra de 261 crianças menores de dois anos, residentes em Itupeva, São Paulo, Brasil. A partir de uma base teórico-metodológica-operacional compuseramse três grupos sociais homogêneos (GSH) segundo semelhantes formas de trabalhar e de viver. A duração do AM total foi estimada com a técnica de tábuas de vida. O teste de Wilcoxon foi empregado para identificar associação entre as variáveis categóricas na análise bivariada. Para análise múltipla, as variáveis associadas com a duração mediana do AM (pOBJECTIVE: based on the theory of social determination of the health-disease process, the objective of this study was to know the duration of overall breast feeding and the factors associated with its interruption, according to the social reproduction profiles of the families (ways of living and working). METHODS: this is a cross-sectional study carried out with a representative sample of 261 children under two years of age, living in Itupeva city, Sao Paulo, Brazil. From a theoretical-methodologicaloperational basis, three social homogeneous groups (GSH) were established, according to similar conditions of working and living. Overall breast feeding duration was calculated from survival tables. Variables with p<0.20 in bivariate Wilcoxon test were then introduced in multiple Cox Regression model in order to find associated aspects to the breast feeding duration. RESULTS: the breast feeding duration medians of the 3 GSH were 6.7 months, 7.1 months and 9.9 months, with no statistically significant difference (p=0.31). The multivariate analysis showed that the sequence of birth (p=0.018), pacifier use (p<0.001) and bottle-feeding (p<0.001) were associated to the interruption of breast feeding. CONCLUSIONS: there was no association between breast feeding duration and the social groups studied. However, the social determinants on breast feeding duration should be considered in actions that promote breast feeding. These actions also need to include information about harmful effects to the duration of breastfeeding when offering pacifiers and bottle-feedings.

Keywords

• Aleitamento materno
• Grupo social
• Condições sociais
• Breast feeding
• Social group
• Social conditions