Lactational amenorrhea: nurses experience and the promotion of this alternative method of contraception

Abstract

This is a cross-sectional, field study that used a quantitative approach with the objectives to identify nurses' personal experiences with breastfeeding and with the Lactactional Amenorrhea Method (LAM); learn the reasons for not adhering to breastfeeding or adhering to mixed feeding; establish the relationship between nurses' personal experience with the LAM and their giving orientations about this contraceptive method to users of the Primary Health Care Center. Participants were 137 nurses with the Family Health Strategy in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil, and data collection was performed through interviews. Most participants were female; i.e., 121 participants (88.3%). The age range was 26 to 59 years, with an average of 38.3 years. Sixty-six participants (94.2%) had a previous experience with breastfeeding, 61 (92.4%) of which adhered to Exclusive Breastfeeding (EB), 5 (7.6%) to Mixed Feeding (MF); and 4 (5.8%) did not breastfeed. The time of EB ranged from one to six months, with an average 4.31 months. Twelve nurses (19.6%) followed the LAM. The study showed that the nurses' personal experience with the LAM did not affect the promotion of this method to the clientele that they assist.