Aleitamento materno: fator primordial para a preservação da saúde ambiental

This study aims to analyze the advantages of breastfeeding, including the importance of preserving the environment through this act in order to promote environmental health. This is a study obtained through exploratory bibliographic research, in the Scientific Electronic Library Online database (SciELO), respecting the publication limits between 2012 and 2018 in Portuguese, English and Spanish, using the following descriptors: “Breastfeeding”, “Environment” and “Environmental Health” in which four articles were selected. Through the analysis of the literature, it was possible to detect two themes: the promotion of breastfeeding as a way of protecting the environment and the influences of information received on the breastfeeding process in health and in the economic environment, the first of which showed the main related benefits the lower consumption of polluters in the environment and the second pointed out how much breastfeeding contributes to social capital, becoming an economic means. The study provides information on the understanding of the importance of promoting breastfeeding as a way of protecting the environment, exposing countless difficulties and resistance by both health professionals and women.