Study: Breast-feeding would save lives and money
According to a new study, “The lives of nearly 900 babies would be saved each year, along with billions of dollars, if 90 percent of U.S. women breast-fed their babies for the first six months of life” (AP Chicago, L. Tanner, 4/5). The results of the study are estimated, but were published last Monday in the Journal of Pediatrics and corroborated by several experts. The findings suggest that breast-feeding may help prevent hundreds of infant deaths and many costly illnesses including juvenile diabetes, stomach viruses, asthma, and even childhood leukemia. The science behind the conclusions is surprisingly simple: breast milk contains antibodies passed from mother to child that help babies fight infections.
Although approximately “43 percent of U.S. mothers do at least some breast-feeding for six months, but only 12 percent follow government guidelines recommending that babies receive only breast milk for six months… [In support of the study,] Dr. Larry Gray, a University of Chicago pediatrician, called the analysis compelling and said it is reasonable to strive for 90 percent compliance.
It is also important to note, as Dr. Gray did, that many mothers are unable to breast feed for six months because their jobs and other demands often make it impossible to do so. Hopefully, this is changing as the new health care bill included provisions for breast-feeding mothers. These provisions are not perfect however because it “requires [only] large employers to provide private places for working mothers to pump breast milk.“ As a medical malpractice and personal injury attorney, I sincerely hope that employers and the health care system alike made necessary changes to spread this compelling information about the benefits of breast feeding that have the potential to save not only lives, but reduce costs as well.
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