Lactating women and the perception of useful value for breastfeeding in a prison environment

The aim is to unveil the useful value of breastfeeding for lactating women in a prison environment, based on Max Scheler's axiological perspective. This work was a qualitative, developed in a prison unit in Rio de Janeiro, where seven lactating women were interviewed. The phenomenological interview was used for data collection, while Laurence Bardin's content analysis was used for data analysis and treatment. The value revealed, in light of Max Scheler's findings, was the useful value, which was detected through the needs and wants experienced by lactating women during the act of breastfeeding in a prison environment. But, it is necessary to transform this space into a legitimate environment, which should value breastfeeding through the support of family, friends, and health professionals, as well as with the implementation of new protocols and specific public policies for the practice of breastfeeding within the prison system, which must be based on both scientific evidence and the principles of the Unified Health System (SUS).