Experience report: educational process and health promotion of mothers of babies with ankyloglossia

Abstract

This article is an experience report on work carried out with mothers of babies who had difficulty breastfeeding, especially those with ankyloglossia, living in the city of Vitória, State of Espírito Santo, Brazil, with different socioeconomic profiles. The objective of the work was health education with contextualization in facilitating attachment and sensorimotor organization of the mother-baby binomial. One hundred fifty mothers, aged between 15 and 45 years, participated in the sessions. Individual transdisciplinary care and health education sessions were held between September 2021 and August 2022. Mothers’ main doubts about correct and efficient breastfeeding were raised, which were clarified during the care sessions assistance and health education, using a participatory and visual strategy. Technical terms were decoded into popular language. Based on the topics covered in the sessions, a homework assignment was created with exercises for the mother and baby to complete until the next session. The understanding of the content was validated with the mothers from when they felt safe to be discharged and within reach of the criteria developed by the transdisciplinary team for each case. The experience allowed us to learn about the group’s peculiarities and plan understandable and meaningful guidance with the mothers.