Breast milk could save lives and money
Source: Agencies |
April 6, 2010, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE lives of nearly 900 babies would be saved each year, along with billions of dollars, if 90 percent of women in the United States breast-fed their babies for the first six months, according to a cost analysis.
The results were published online yesterday in the journal Pediatrics.
"The health care system has got to be aware that breast-feeding makes a profound difference," said Dr Ruth Lawrence, who heads the American Academy of Pediatrics' breast-feeding section.
The findings suggest there are hundreds of deaths and many more costly illnesses each year from health problems that breast-feeding may help prevent. These include stomach viruses, ear infections, asthma, juvenile diabetes, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and even childhood leukemia.
The health benefits linked to breast-feeding are vastly under-appreciated, said lead author Dr Melissa Bartick, an instructor at Harvard Medical School.
Breast milk contains antibodies that help babies fight infections; it also can affect insulin levels in the blood, which may make babies less likely to develop diabetes and obesity.
The analysis studied the prevalence of 10 common childhood illnesses, the cost of treating those diseases, and the level of disease protection other studies have linked with breast-feeding.
The US$13 billion in estimated losses due to the low breast-feeding rate includes an economist's calculation partly based on lost potential lifetime wages - US$10.56 million per death.
The pediatrics academy says babies should be given a chance to start breast-feeding immediately after birth. Bartick said that often doesn't happen, and at many hospitals newborns are offered formula even when their mothers intended to breast-feed.
The results were published online yesterday in the journal Pediatrics.
"The health care system has got to be aware that breast-feeding makes a profound difference," said Dr Ruth Lawrence, who heads the American Academy of Pediatrics' breast-feeding section.
The findings suggest there are hundreds of deaths and many more costly illnesses each year from health problems that breast-feeding may help prevent. These include stomach viruses, ear infections, asthma, juvenile diabetes, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and even childhood leukemia.
The health benefits linked to breast-feeding are vastly under-appreciated, said lead author Dr Melissa Bartick, an instructor at Harvard Medical School.
Breast milk contains antibodies that help babies fight infections; it also can affect insulin levels in the blood, which may make babies less likely to develop diabetes and obesity.
The analysis studied the prevalence of 10 common childhood illnesses, the cost of treating those diseases, and the level of disease protection other studies have linked with breast-feeding.
The US$13 billion in estimated losses due to the low breast-feeding rate includes an economist's calculation partly based on lost potential lifetime wages - US$10.56 million per death.
The pediatrics academy says babies should be given a chance to start breast-feeding immediately after birth. Bartick said that often doesn't happen, and at many hospitals newborns are offered formula even when their mothers intended to breast-feed.
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