AMAMENTAÇÃO: ENTRE O DELEITE DO BEBÊ E A ESCOLHA MATERNA

Abstract

The studies point to short- and long-term benefits, whether from the organic, psychological, and socioeconomic point of view. At the same time, breastfeeding is a favorable action for the mother-baby bond, since, even before sucking the milk, the baby feeds on the delight. From the baby's perspective, breastfeeding is associated with the maternal function, which involves implicated mothering and a responsive adult. On the other hand, breastfeeding seems to be related to maternal choice, grounded in psycho-affective, sociocultural, moral, and/or religious factors. Moreover, even if some mothers understand the importance of breastfeeding, ambivalent feelings and unconscious conflicts may arise, which generate difficulties in breastfeeding, even leading to failure. This is a narrative research that investigates the structuring effect of breastfeeding on the maternal function and the constitution of the subject and issues related to maternal choice to breastfeed. The results indicate that breastfeeding is a challenge for both mother and baby. For the baby, breastfeeding conceives an encounter between body development and subjective structuring, while for the mother, the choice to breastfeed seems to be associated with a plurality of feelings, besides issues ranging from her own constitutive history to the moment experienced, whose process is crossed by psycho-affective, sociocultural, moral and/or religious factors. Thus, the issues related to breastfeeding are beyond the organic and the professionals who assist families need to consider the subjectivity of this mother and this baby.