[Child development in children with exclusive breastfeeding].

Background: Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) is essential for child development, offering cognitive, motor and emotional benefits.

Objective: To determine child development in children with exclusive breastfeeding.

Material and methods: A longitudinal and retrospective study was conducted on children aged 1 to 24 months, with and without exclusive breastfeeding (EBF). Development was assessed at three time points (baseline, three months, and six months) using the Infant Development Assessment Test, which measures gross motor skills, fine motor skills, language, and social aspects. Child-related variables (age, sex, and gestational age) and maternal variables (age, socioeconomic status, and education level) were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics with SPSS v24.

Results: In a sample of 359 children, with a median age of 9 months (1-24), 52.4% were girls, with a median gestational age of 39 weeks (37-42). The median maternal age was 24 years (16-38), with a predominance of middle-high socioeconomic status (70.8) and secondary or higher education (55.4%). 52.9% of children received EBF. Initially, 83.1% of children with EBF obtained a green score in development, increasing to 97.8% at three months and 99.4% at six months. In contrast, in children without EBF, only 28.9% obtained a green score initially, increasing to 34.9% at three months and 48.5% at six months (p < 0.001).

Conclusion: Children with EBF showed superior development compared to those without EBF, underlining the importance of breastfeeding in psychomotor, cognitive and social development.