Abstract

Breastfeeding provides all the nutrients to strengthen the immune system and the physical and mental development of the infant. It is exclusively recommended up to 6 months of age and prolonged up to two years. To increase the prevalence of breastfeeding, it must be valued by the breastfeeding women themselves. Objectives: To know the social valuation of the practice of breastfeeding and the difficulties that influence the early weaning in infants from five regions of Chile. Patients and Method: This investigation was based on the interpretive paradigm, from a phenomenological approach with a qualitative methodology. Thirty-five breastfeeding mothers participated in a semi-structured interview. The analytical strategy of grounded theory was used for the analysis. The qualitative data management software Atlas Ti, 8 was used. Results: It is evident that the social dimension and its categories (support network of the partner, family, and women of the family) are fundamental to maintaining EBF since weaning occurred when these were not available. Conclusions: Women perceive great value in the support networks of the partner, family, and female family members to maintain breast-feeding. The breastfeeding process is a complex phenomenon and not without problems, which is highly influenced by the social dimensions that generate the possibility of maintaining breastfeeding until 6 months or longer or, on the contrary, they influence its suspension.