O aleitamento materno como fator determinante no desenvolvimento infantil

Abstract

Breastfeeding is a determining factor for child development, significantly influencing the child's physical, cognitive, emotional, and social aspects. This integrative review aimed to analyze, in recent literature, the impacts of breastfeeding on children's growth and neuropsychomotor development, emphasizing the nurse's role in promoting and supporting this practice. Eleven studies published in the last 5 years, between 2020 and 2025, were included, selected from the LILACS and BDENF databases, consulted thru the Virtual Health Library (VHL), as well as the MEDLINE database, and evaluated for the quality of evidence according to the Oxford Center for Evidence-Based Medicine model. The findings indicate that exclusive breastfeeding until six months, with continuation until two years or more, is associated with a reduction in developmental delays, improvement in language, motor coordination, and cognitive and sócio emotional skills. It also highlights its contribution to immune protection, the strengthening of the intestinal microbiota, and the promotion of a secure emotional bond. In this context, the importance of the nurse as a protagonist in guidance, encouragement, proper management of breastfeeding, and the implementation of public policies that reinforce the practice as a collective health action, ethical and evidence-based, is highlighted.