This study aimed to analyze non-verbal communication between mother and child in HIV/Aids conditions by looking at the language of touch during the performance of maternal care. An exploratory research was developed in an experimental setting in Fortaleza-CE during the second semester of 2007, involving five mother-baby pairs. Three resources were used for data collection: semistructured questionnaire on the life history of mother and child; filming of maternal care (changing, bathing, lulling, playing and feeding) and a script to analyze the recordings based on the language of touch. The researchers identified 354 interactions, the analysis of which indicated that bathing presented the largest number of mother-child interactions, and that care with strong touch and the use of instrumental touch prevailed. It is concluded that the mother-child relations inserted in the HIV universe should be continuously debated with a view to more effective care promotion and that maternal care represents an opportunity to strengthen affective bonds by using touch, promoting the child's satisfactory emotional and social development.
Communication; HIV-1; Mother-Child Relations
