Child care: mother-infant problems detected by nurses at a family care health center

problemas materno-infantis detectados pelos enfermeiros numa unidade de saúde da família

Abstract

The present descriptive research with quantitative approach aims to characterize the epidemiologic profile of children who attended first child care visits carried out by nurses. The target population consisted of children born between January and December 2006 who lived in an area covered by a specific Family Care Health Center in Londrina-PR. Data was collected from medical records of children filed in the Center's database. The following variables were analyzed: child's age at child care; birth anthropometric measurements; problems detected at child care and mother-infant factors that may have influence over child's growth and development. Data was collected in Excel software and assessed by frequency and percentage. 164 children attended the first child care visit, 63.4% of those were carried out by nurses. 51.0% of children started child care at neonatal period, 10.6% were low birth weight infants and 2.0% had 5-minute Apgar score <7. Among the major problems identified by nurses, 26.3% affected the tegumentary system followed by 20.9% of nutritional/gastrointestinal problems and 14.3% that accounted for respiratory problems. 17.6% of problems were associated to diaper dermatitis, 8.8% to infant colic and 12.1% to common cold, respectively. 66.3% of infants were being exclusively breastfed and 92.3% of lactating mothers presented a risk of early weaning. It could be observed that the execution of a child care program is systematic to the nurses, but it still does not follow those directions praised by the Health Department regarding attendance to all newborns during their first week of life. Nevertheless, child care makes detection of prevalent illnesses possible, as well as their prevention during infancy and the identification of maternal problems, such as breast-feeding, directly related to healthful development and growth of the child.