Impacto económico de la lactancia materna exclusiva

Resumen

La lactancia materna es la mejor forma de nutrir y promover la salud de la infancia al tiempo que aporta beneficios para la salud materna. Aunque existe amplia evidencia científica que respalda sus ventajas en términos de salud, los estudios sobre su impacto económico son escasos. Este trabajo tiene como objetivo revisar la literatura existente sobre el impacto económico de la lactancia materna exclusiva e identificar futuras líneas de investigación. Se realizó una búsqueda bibliográfica en las bases de datos PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science y Cochrane, seleccionando 21 artículos
publicados en español o inglés en los últimos 10 años. Se excluyeron aquellos centrados en la evaluación económica de medidas específicas. Los estudios revisados incluyen 14 modelos de estimación de costes, 4 estudios observacionales y 3 revisiones narrativas. Existe una alta heterogeneidad entre ellos en varios aspectos (población de estudio, perspectiva económica, metodología, parámetros analizados…). La mayoría evalúa costes médicos directos, especialmente los asociados a patologías pediátricas agudas y desde la perspectiva del pagador. Sin embargo, se observa un aumento de investigaciones que abordan patologías crónicas, condiciones maternas y que adoptan una perspectiva social más amplia. Todos los estudios concluyen que la lactancia materna genera un ahorro económico. No obstante, la limitada cantidad y heterogeneidad de los estudios impide realizar un metaanálisis. Nuestros resultados sugieren que para una mejor evaluación del tema se necesitan investigaciones multidisciplinares con datos reales y con enfoques económicos más integrales.

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Melero Guardia, P., & Ciriza Barea, E. (2026). Impacto económico de la lactancia materna exclusiva. Revista De Lactancia Materna, 4, e34101. https://doi.org/10.14201/rlm.34101

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