Postural positions more used by mothers in bucal cleaning of babies

Abstract

In a health promotion program of child it was observed that the mothers adopt different postural positions for oral hygiene in infants. Goal: The present study aimed to evaluate the positions most used by mothers during oral cleaning of infants up to 08 months of age. Methodology: The sample consisted of 38 mothers and their infants, who participated in the promotion program at the Basic Health Units, in Gurupi city, Tocantins State, Brazil. On a home visit, the mother was asked to clean the baby's oral cavity, pictures were taken at this time, later the mothers filled out questionnaire regarding their knowledge of the oral health of the child. This research was approved by the ethics committee/CAAE: 32671414.4.0000.5518. Results: It was observed that all mothers received adequate information about the baby's oral health, but were not advised about an ideal postural position for oral baby cleaning. The study showed that hygiene occurred mostly in the morning (60.5%), 75% of the mothers used the sitting position with the baby supported on the neck to perform the oral hygiene, and the cloth diaper (79%) was the most commonly used instrument for baby's oral cleaning. The chi-square test presented significant results regarding the cleaning position in relation to the difficulty of performing oral hygiene(p=0.008). Conclusion: Therefore, the most used position by the mother for the hygiene of the mouth was with the child on the lap, pointing the need for studies that seek, besides motivation for the oral hygiene of the baby, to guide the mothers in an adequate position that promotes comfort and safety at the time of this procedure.