OBJECTIVE: To identify practices of primiparas about infant feeding of infants learned from the mother and/or grandmother. METHODS: This was a qualitative, descriptive research study. The subjects were 11 primiparas, who used the Unified Health System of Palmeira das Missões/ RS. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: Three themes emerged: practices of infant feeding transmitted by grandmothers; influence of grandmothers on infant feeding; feelings of primiparas in regard to the actions of grandmothers on infant feeding. CONCLUSIONS: The grandmothers are important with regard to the transmission of knowledge, wisdom and experiences related to infant feeding. For nursing care focused on the subjects' autonomy and responsibility that involves cultural congruence, the nurse should consider that the interactions of the family group, in its dialectical movement, modulate and are modulated by their culture.
Breast feeding; Culture; Family; Nursing; Infant nutrition