Licença-maternidade : vivências de servidoras públicas de Fortaleza no cuidado com os filhos menores de dois anos

Abstract

The multiple roles of women in society have made it difficult for them to combine breastfeeding and work outside the home. Short maternity leaves can compromise the period of exclusive breastfeeding and the mother-child bond, as well as child development. In 2008, the National Congress passed Law 11.770 which created the Corporate Citizenship Program and extended maternity leave from 120 to 180 days for public servants. As a result, the need emerged to understand how the extension of maternity leave helped to promote childcare. To study the maternal experiences of health professionals in the city of Fortaleza regarding childcare during the 180-day maternity leave. A qualitative approach, in which the women were contacted by telephone, via e-mail or in visits to workplaces, based on a list of public servants who had returned from leave in 2012-2013, provided by the SMS. Ten working public servants, who had returned from leave between June and December 2013, were interviewed in the workplace or at home, using a semi-structured script. The script collates information relating to identification, occupation, family income, marital status, use of maternity leave of 180 days and questions about maternal experiences of childcare during and after maternity leave. The Bardin content analysis was used as a methodological framework. The theoretical framework for the analysis was guided by the employer/employee working relationship; experiential maternal ties after childbirth and Brazilian legislation on maternity protection as a means of maternal childcare. The project was submitted to the Research Ethics Committee of the Federal University of Ceará, respecting Resolution 466/2012, Opinion No. 436 578/2013. The women revealed that six months maternity leave was important in their decision to breastfeed exclusively and to provide more time to spend with the child. However, alone, it cannot have a positive effect on the duration of exclusive breastfeeding, because there were reports of early weaning from three of the professionals interviewed. The accumulation of childcare activities and housework indicates an overload even during period of leave, and the presence of the husband is seen as a necessary strategy to support breastfeeding and the adaptation to the new family dynamics. The main difficulties in caring for a child on the return to work were: finding someone to take care of the child and adapting the child to complementary feeding. The results of this research showed that the extension of maternity leave from 120 to 180 days has increased the chances of prolonging breastfeeding. Nevertheless public policies are intensely focused on breastfeeding, neglecting the need for legal protection to ensure the transition to complementary feeding and childcare after returning to work. Family relationships have been transformed, but public policies continue to focus on women as the primary maintainers of family stability and responsible for childcare.