Abstract
Dear Editor:
Over the last 14 years, the Department of Infant Dentistry and the Araçatuba Dental School, Universidade Estadual Paulista, have developed a program to promote oral health for pregnant women attended in the Basic Health Units of Araçatuba, SP, Brazil. This program—whose name literally translates to “The promotion of oral health for pregnant women from the Basic Health Units of Araçatuba-SP”—was developed with the support of PROEX (Pro-rectory of University Outreach) and the local authority health services, which promote oral health among future mothers. Through preventative education and curative actions, this program cares for pregnant women receiving prenatal health care. The pregnant women receive dental treatment and participate in educational activities, didactic-pedagogical meetings, games, and group discussions on themes related to oral health, the myths surrounding dental care during pregnancy, diet, breastfeeding, and the importance of paying attention to the mother's health and that of the future baby. They also undergo dental treatment to fit the oral environment.
To evaluate if the program activities were causing impact on the pregnant woman's life, the researchers decided to compare the practices and perceptions of participants with those of non-participant women. 4
It was possible to observe that the women who participated in the program breastfed their babies for a longer time, had better perception about benefits of breastfeeding, and showed less difficulty with breastfeeding than the other women who did not participate in the program.
Breastfeeding should appear on government schedules. Actions like the promotion and encouragement of exclusive breastfeeding through education programs are initiatives that should be supported and implemented, especially for low-income women, reducing social inequality.
It was observed that, overall, the women in this study viewed breastfeeding to be important. We also verified that the group that had participated in the dental care program for pregnant women had a better understanding of the benefits and importance of breastfeeding than the non-participants' group, replicating the results of other studies that showed an increasing awareness to breastfeeding their babies.
Women commonly perceived that breastfeeding was less important for the mothers than it was for the babies. This finding fits with prior research in which the expression of a desire to breastfeed clearly indicated that the focus of breastfeeding was the child.
Unfortunately, the percentage of infants exclusively breastfed for their first 6 months of life in Brazil is low. In the study by Moimaz et al., 3 less than 50% of children followed up in the study were exclusively breastfeeding up to 6 months.
We conclude that there were differences between groups and that, therefore, that health education activities, such as the program, are effective.