THE ROLE OF NURSING IN PROMOTING BREASTFEEDING IN THE FIRST MONTHS OF LIFE

Abstract

Introduction: breast milk is a crucial source of nutrition, containing the substances necessary to meet all the baby's requirements. In addition to its nutritional value, breast milk offers protection against infections, preventing malnutrition and reducing the incidence of morbidities such as diarrhea, respiratory infections, otitis media, asthma, among others. Exclusive breastfeeding is recommended for the first 6 months of life, with continuation recommended at least until the child's second birthday. In this scenario, the nurse's assistance plays a fundamental role, as they have the necessary skills to provide support at this crucial stage. The guiding question that guided the research was the following: "What is the role of the nursing team in promoting breastfeeding?". Methodological aspects: this is an integrative review of the scientific literature, carried out in the VHL using the LILACS, MEDLINE and SCIELO databases, through crossing with the Boolean operator AND: (Breastfeeding) AND (Nursing Care) AND (Infant). Using the inclusion criteria, which covered articles published in full and within the time frame of five years (2018-2023), in Portuguese and English, duplicate articles, theses, dissertations and studies that did not meet the research objective were excluded, resulting in only 55 articles. Results and discussion: 5 studies were selected to construct this work. The data from this review showed that nurses' assistance in the context of breastfeeding occurs mainly through nursing consultations. During this consultation, the professional provides the necessary care to minimize possible adverse impacts on the mother and child, through guidance and actions designed to promote and encourage breastfeeding. Given this scenario, the importance of nursing professionals in promoting breastfeeding during the first six months of the baby's life becomes notable, since their role is to encourage and encourage the mother to adopt the practice, taking into account the context sociocultural and family. Conclusion: therefore, nurses play a unique role in the care provided, and their role is extremely essential in promoting breastfeeding in the first 6 months of life. Therefore, it is noteworthy that the nursing team assumes the responsibility of guiding pregnant women from prenatal care to the postpartum period, promoting health education about the benefits that breastfeeding provides to the mother-child binomial.