Feeding and exclusive breastfeeding of newborns: Social representation of fathers

Abstract

Objectives: To identify the structure and content of fathers’ social representations of feeding and exclusive breastfeeding, and to analyze the structural relationships among these representations.Method: This qualitative study, based on Social Representations Theory, was conducted with 54 fathers on the maternity ward of a university hospital in south Brazil.Data collected through evocations from the stimulus-terms ‘baby feeding’ and ‘exclusive breastfeeding’, and semi-structured interviews, were treated using EVOC software and contextual analysis.The study was approved in Opinion No.71/2016.Results: The word ‘breastfeeding’ appeared in the central nucleus of both stimulus-terms.In relation to ‘exclusive breastfeeding’, the words ‘essential’ and ‘exclusive’ were still present, demonstrating that his was inherent to health.Conclusion: Fathers’ representations were influenced by the meanings of cultural practices, but they acknowledge breastfeeding beyond its nutritional aspects, that is, they value the affective dimension of this practice.