The increasing number of women in crime comes over time demanding legal changes to
support the specificities of this genre, for example motherhood. The stay of babies in prison is
supported by law through the Federal Constitution, Law of Penal Execution and the Statute of
Children and Adolescents. This legal apparatus aimed at the healthy development of the baby
allowing the child to stay with his mother for at least six months of life to have breast milk as
exclusive nourishment and another gain that is the stimulus to the bond established by the
dyad. The importance of the environmental physical structure, the beliefs of caregivers and
how mothers take care of their babies brought us to think in this study which aimed to analyze
the experiences of mothers with their babies in the prison context. The survey was conducted
in the Mother and Child Center, located in Ananindeua, in the metropolitan region of Belém,
opened in March, 2013. A total of 10 (ten) dyads consisting of mother and baby participated
in this study. Data were collected using an interview guide to gather information to describe
the profile of mothers and babies and check the knowledge about breastfeeding and the
Mother and Baby Scales (MABS) to evaluate the mother's confidence in providing care to the
baby. The results indicated accession to mothers’ breastfeeding, extending itself up to twelve
months of life of the baby and the permanence of the child in the institution. Breastfeeding
was crucial for linking the dyad and to minimize damage from imprisonment such as stress.
Mothers who were older showed more safely care for their children and said that in the prison
environment the exclusive dedication to babies was easier, probably due to the absence of
other simultaneous tasks. Regarding the expected future, mothers want their children to have a
story of life opposite from the life that they experienced in prison and in crime. The study
proposes educational measures such as preparing brochures with guidelines on breastfeeding,
the routine of the institution and the rights of the arrested woman. In addition, it is expected
that this research will contribute to the implementation of public policies aiming to preserve
family life by increasing the frequency of visits, access the link to family, quickness or clear
information about the trial of the arrested, actions to maintain the coexistence and
maintenance of family ties.
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