Monday, April 5, 2010

Lack of Breastfeeding Saves Lives and Lots of Dollars

A study in the Journal of Pediatrics published on Monday revealed that breastfeeding exclusively in the first 6 months of life would save 1000 lives and billions of dollars. Specifically in the US, 911 preventable deaths and $13 billion dollars. Researchers included the cost of health care as well as parents time away from work.

The World Health Organization says infants should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life "to achieve optimal growth, development and health." The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physicians and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention all agree that breast milk alone is sufficient for newborns and infants until they are 6 months old.

Nearly 95% are due to premature deaths because of SIDs (sudden infant death syndrome), lower respiratory infections like pneumonia, and necrotizing enterolitis (intestinal walls die). Breastfeeding has been shown to decrease the risk of these illnesses as well as 7 other.

A lot of contributing factors were discussed by the researchers such as lack of education in hospitals, pressure from grandparents and parents to stop breastfeeding when it's not going well (because they grew up in a 'formula' time), and a delay in immediate skin-to-skin contact between mother and baby making it harder for the baby to develop its sucking instinct.

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