Breastfeeding practices following a social work health promotion strategy among first-time mothers in Mexico

Introduction: In Mexico, breastfeeding practices show a good start but deteriorate over time due to a lack of support for exclusive breastfeeding (EBF). This problem disproportionately affects disadvantaged communities, which could lead to an even greater decline in breastfeeding (BF) or exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) practices. Previous clinical research has not clearly evaluated and established the impact of health promotion education strategies (HPES) on breastfeeding practices. Objective: To determine the association between a health promotion education strategy (HPES) and breastfeeding practices among first-time mothers in Mexico. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional, analytical study was conducted in a primary care center among women aged 18 to 36 years who were breastfeeding, with and without a history of receiving HES from clinical social workers. Women with training in education and teaching, undergoing cancer treatment, or HIV were excluded. Pearson's chi-square test was used for the EEPS and type of breastfeeding variables, obtaining odds ratios (OR) and 95% CI. A p value of <0.05 was considered to indicate dependence on factors. Results: Of the 216 participants, 56% did not practice EBM and only 30% had a high knowledge of BM. Lack of participation in EEPS was associated with artificial or mixed BM, with an OR of 5.22 (2.90-9.41) and p<0.05. Conclusions: The findings suggest an association between EEPS and EBF, highlighting the importance of integrating women, families, and support networks into EEPS for breastfeeding through social work as part of personalized medicine in Mexican primary care centers.