Nursing advice in the process of natural feeding in the first year of life of children

Abstract

Introduction. Nurses are the heart of every health center, they provide comfort, compassion and care without a prescription. Nursing is an integral part of the healthcare system. All nurses play a valuable role in facilitating the health of mothers, infants and children by protecting, promoting and supporting breastfeeding. Aim of study. Determining the role of nursing interventions in the natural feeding process by analysing breastfeeding mothers' knowledge and identifying difficulties in the breastfeeding process. Methods and materials. The study comprised 2 stages, literature review and a prospective observational study. The research questionnaire consisted of 6 sections, 50 questions in total, 45 closed questions and 5 open questions. The research examined mothers' knowledge of natural feeding and the nurse's ability to intervene when women encounter difficulties. Results. The questionnaire was completed by 719 respondents aged over 16. The highest proportion of respondents' age is 31-35 years, with 39.1%. The majority of women have completed higher education 85.3%, have given birth naturally 75.2% and exclusively breastfed 74.1%. In 61.80% cases, the medical staff encouraged exclusive feeding and explained how to do it correctly, and in 38.20% it was not. Of the total women (719), the majority were supervised and guided by the nurse - 55%; 13.50% by the doctor; 11.70% by the lactation consultant; 5.50% by the mothers and 14.30% by no one. The process of informing medical staff about correct breastfeeding was useful in 50.9% of cases, very useful in 25.7% and unnecessary in 23.4%. It is appreciable that 81.4% of all women breastfeed their babies for 12 months and more. Also, 86% of all mothers breastfeed their babies on demand. On the other hand, when they faced difficulties in the breastfeeding process out of the total women only 19% turned to the family doctor, 19% to the nurse, 7% to any health centre and 55% did not turn to anyone. Conclusion. It is the highly educated general nurses who should be with every woman from conception, through pregnancy and after birth. For both mother and child to be well both physically and psychologically, a competent and open person is needed to provide knowledge and be there for them in any situation. The presence of the nurse in a mother's life inspires great confidence in the mother's every action towards the child.