Breastfeeding prevalence before and after the implementation of a children's morbid mortality reduction program in the municipality of Campo Mourao, Parana State

Health services evaluation contributes to the reformulation and establishment of new health practices and improvement of health indicators. The purpose of this study was to describe breastfeeding prevalence in the sixth month in children who were born before and after the implementation of a children's morbid mortality reduction program, in the municipality of Campo Mourao, Parana State, and to verify the scope of actions to support breastfeeding. One hundred ninety-seven mothers, who had a child born before and after the implementation of the program, were interviewed. In their sixth month of life exclusive breastfeeding prevalence was 34.0% and 36.5%, respectively, for those born before and after the implementation. As for coverage, 16.2% of women took part in at least one educational lecture, 87.8% were interviewed by the group during admission to puerperium, 79.7% received educational material and 77.2% received material for the newly-born care. This study provided evidence of low impact of the program on breastfeeding prevalence. Other evaluative studies are suggested, so that the planning of actions and procedures of the program achieve their goal which is to provide a better care for the woman and child.