Abstract

GONZALES, Anibal Oblitas; ORTIZ, José Uberli, Herrera  and  CRUZ, Yohana Liseth Flores. Exclusive breastfeeding in Latin America: a systematic review. Vive Rev. Salud [online]. 2022, vol.5, n.15, pp.874-888.  Epub Dec 21, 2022. ISSN 2664-3243.  https://doi.org/10.33996/revistavive.v5i15.195.

Exclusive breastfeeding is the process of feeding the child only with breast milk and without the addition of any other type of food. Objective. To determine the initiation, duration, prevalence and risk factors associated with the abandonment of exclusive breastfeeding, as well as the knowledge, experiences and strengths that mothers have to carry out breastfeeding. Methodology. We obtained scientific information and gray literature in Spanish, stored in Pubmed, Scielo and Lilacs; using "Exclusive breastfeeding" OR "Latin America" as logical delimitation operators. Twenty-eight scientific studies were identified, of which 18 met the inclusion and quality criteria; in addition to 4 records in gray literature. Conclusion. Of the studies that measured initiation, duration and prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding, 75% initiated breastfeeding within the first hour of birth, the average duration of breastfeeding was 5.5 months and the mean prevalence reached 46.9%. Forty and 30% of the studies identified lack of knowledge and low maternal education as risk factors associated with the abandonment of breastfeeding, respectively. Adequate growth and family support in child rearing were maternal strengths during the breastfeeding period, while lack of rest for the mother, limited guidance on breastfeeding and breastfeeding were negative experiences. The problem of exclusive breastfeeding in Latin America, according to the studies addressed, is linked, among others, to the social conditions in which the child lives (lack of knowledge and low educational level of the mother).

Keywords : Breast Feeding; Mothers; Latin America.

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