O ALEITAMENTO MATERNO COMO INDICADOR DE QUALIDADE DA ASSISTÊNCIA DE ENFERMAGEM

Abstract

Objective: to summarize breastfeeding as an indicator of quality in nursing care in the literature. Method: integrative review, presenting the question: what is the evidence for breastfeeding as an indicator of quality of care in nursing practices? Conducted in the MEDLINE/PubMed, Virtual Health Library, Web of Science, Scopus and Embase databases, in March 2024. The articles were included in July 2024, with eight articles available in Portuguese and English, with full and free access. Results: eight articles were identified, predominantly in English and published between 2000 and 2023, and with qualitative methodology. Studies were found that presented breastfeeding as an important quality indicator for measuring omissions in nursing care, the relevance of developing lactation programs for staff training that result in processes for improving the quality of care, and the need for validated tools for assessing care related to breastfeeding in a hospital environment. In addition, they highlighted the influence of nursing processes in lactation on racial disparities and the perceptions of nurses and mothers. The importance of developing more effective strategies and tools to reduce omissions in nursing care and improve breastfeeding rates was highlighted, and reinforced the need for a more systematic approach. Conclusion: the studies provided updated evidence on the subject so that nursing can advance in terms of evidence-based practices, training, and the development of policies and strategies that promote training and, consequently, improve child growth and development.