Resumo:
Lactation is a subject of great relevance and it is a protective factor for numerous diseases related to both mother and child, including breast cancer. The World Health Organization advise exclusive
breastfeeding until six month old, and recommends complementary breastfeeding up to two year old. Breastfeeding time throug women life confers the relative reduced risk for breast cancer. Objective: To identify the factors associated to the history of lactation among women screened for breast cancer in the cities of Cândido Sales-BA and Salvador-BA. Methodology: This is a cross-sectional study, including 356 women, aged 50-69 year old, users of the brazilian public health system, participants in the Breast Cancer Screening Program of the State of Bahia, in the cities of Cândido Sales-BA and Salvador-BA. The information on the history of lactation was obtained through a semi-structured questionnaire and analyzed with statistical software STATA, version 12. Results: The analysis of the median of breastfeeding according to selected variables showed statistically significant differences depending on place of residence at the time of the study and the woman's schooling. It was observed that the highest percentage of women who breastfeed a longer time during their lives, at the time of the survey lived at other cities (42.0%) and those who breastfed less time lived in the state capital (46.3%). A higher proportion of women with no schooling breastfed for time above the median (25.4%). Discussion: More than 90% of women, regardless of where they live, breastfeed at least once in their lives. The level of education and work bond can explained in part the longer breastfeeding time observed in women of rural origin. In this study, 55% of non-breastfeeding women reported an informal work bond. Work may not be a specific obstacle to breastfeeding, as the current occupation may not represent the working bond established in the breastfeeding period. Conclusion: In this study, we observed a difference in the median of the duration of breastfeeding between state capital and interior (18 months, 38.5 months), which represents the disparities between the regions in terms of education, health and employment. The understanding of the protective mechanisms of breastfeeding for cancer can provide important information for the elaboration of reduction policies in the future epidemiological profile.
