Breastfeeding is awesome

[Puppycow]

Breastfeeding would save hundreds of lives, billions of dollars in US alone

CHICAGO — 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, a cost analysis says.

Those startling results, published online Monday in the journal Pediatrics, are only an estimate. But several experts who reviewed the analysis said the methods and conclusions seem sound.

"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 that 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 magnitude of health benefits linked to breast-feeding is vastly underappreciated, said lead author Dr. Melissa Bartick, an internist and instructor at Harvard Medical School. Breast-feeding is sometimes considered a lifestyle choice, but Bartick calls it a public health issue.

Among the benefits: Breast milk contains antibodies that help babies fight infections; it also can affect insulin levels in the blood, which may make breast-fed babies less likely to develop diabetes and obesity.

The analysis studied the prevalence of 10 common childhood illnesses, costs of treating those diseases, including hospitalization, and the level of disease protection other studies have linked with breast-feeding.

The $13 billion in estimated losses due to the low breast-feeding rate includes an economists' calculation partly based on lost potential lifetime wages — $10.56 million per death.
. . .
About 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.

 

[JJM 777]

"there are hundreds of deaths and many more costly illnesses each year from health problems that breast-feeding may help prevent"

Not to undermine the topic, but it doesn't say that breastfeeding certainly would prevent the said hundreds of deaths, it says that breastfeeding may help prevent them.

 

[paximperium]

"there are hundreds of deaths and many more costly illnesses each year from health problems that breast-feeding may help prevent"

Not to undermine the topic, but it doesn't say that breastfeeding certainly would prevent the said hundreds of deaths, it says that breastfeeding may help prevent them.

That's pretty standard for any epidemiological study. It is based on inference from available data.

It's the same as saying if X number of babies are vaccinated against Disease Y, it may help prevent Z number of illnesses.

 

[DevilsAdvocate]

The $13 billion in estimated losses due to the low breast-feeding rate includes an economists' calculation partly based on lost potential lifetime wages — $10.56 million per death.

I must be missing something. Lifetime wages (per death) is $10.56 million. Lifetime wage working years is 20 to 65 years old = 45 years. $10,560,000/45 years = $234,667 per year. If $235,000 per year is the average or median wage, I need to have a serious talk with my boss about a raise.

 

[lionking]

I must be missing something. Lifetime wages (per death) is $10.56 million. Lifetime wage working years is 20 to 65 years old = 45 years. $10,560,000/45 years = $234,667 per year. If $235,000 per year is the average or median wage, I need to have a serious talk with my boss about a raise.

It shouldn't be a reference to wages, but to productive capacity I think.

 

[Miss_Kitt]

I also read that to mean the total loss to the economy, both of the productivity of the individual and of the 'multiplied' spending of the individual's salary.

I am always surprised by articles like this, simply because in Lesser Seattle it is somewhat assumed that--barring a physical complication that prevents it--you will breastfeed your baby, even if you are back at work. The number of refrigerators at offices in this area that have bottles of labelled, pumped-at-work breastmilk is quite large. The State of Washington requires that an employer provide a safe, clean and private environment and time for a breastfeeding-but-back-at-work mother to pump and/or feed her baby if someone brings the child for feedings. (That actually happens! Seattle is somewhat 'granola'.)

I am pretty sure, however, that that attitude is not common in, say, Peoria or Memphis, let alone the small towns of the South. When I nursed my child in a semi-public room at the Mall of the Americas in Minneapolis, other women looked at me like I was crazy, dangerous, or both. It was most unexpected, as Minnesota is extremely liberal politically; that does not apparently carry over into social mores.

I was fortunate, in that breastfeeding was quite easy for me, and for my child. It was a substantial issue for my sister, however, who eventually gave up because she could not produce enough milk to meet her child's needs.

Lionking, what's the social perspective down in Oz on breastfeeding?

Just curious, MK

 

[lionking]

=
Lionking, what's the social perspective down in Oz on breastfeeding?

Just curious, MK

When we had our babies, breastfeeding was expected and the Nursing Mothers Federation was a strong abvocate and quite influential. However in those days many families could afford to have the mother at home for an extended period after giving birth. Today nearly all families require two incomes to afford a house. My wife, who works part-time in the babies room at a Child Care Centre, tells me that most babies are on formula, with only a small proportion on expressed breast milk.

 

[rjh01]

In Australia, I have seen several mothers breast feed their babies. These are in public locations. I think it is illegal to object. Not seen any human sourced milk in fridges at work. Nor anywhere they can go privately to express milk (apart from toilets).

 

[DevilsAdvocate]

I'm a bit skeptical about the numbers, which makes me a bit skeptical about the whole article. I don’t know anything about the subject.

The new tanning salon tax in the US is expected to generate $2.7 billion over the next decade. This is talking about saving $13 BILLION PER YEAR. That is $130 billon over the next decade. That is about 15% of the US health care budget (from what I hear, that is 1/6 of the US economy). That is 0.1% of the Gross National Income (PPP).

$13 billion per year is like:

taking over the worldwide online gaming market
Haiti earthquake damage
yearly earnings of Goldman-Sachs
Kellogg Company’s sale for 2008
all of the economic stimulus money given to Social Security recipients in 2009
operation budget of the state of Maryland

If this article is correct, and those numbers are correct, then this is HUGE. This is simple any easy. This could turn the whole US economy around.

Is this article correct?

 

[rjh01]

It only takes a quick look at the numbers to see there are problems. How do you estimate the $ value of a baby
a. How much money it could earn in its lifetime?
b. How much it has cost to 'produce'.

The cost to produce a year old baby is nowhere near $10.56 million.

Option a ignores the cost of raising a child. Plus the cost of staying alive as an adult. Plus it ignores the possibility that the mother will have another child because the first one has died.

No they have inflated the cost of each death. Work out the cost of raising a child until they die due to lack of breast feeding and then multiply by the number of deaths and that is the true cost of not breast feeding. This will be much less than in the OP.

 

[McHrozni]

I
If this article is correct, and those numbers are correct, then this is HUGE. This is simple any easy. This could turn the whole US economy around.

The numbers are probably inflated, and it would take a generation for the effect to show.

That being said, yes, it is easy to do, and it would be beneficial.

McHrozni

 

[Loss Leader]

The hospital where we had our sons was almost cultish in its insistance on breastfeeding. There were breastfeeding consultants on hand and breastfeeding classes. Representatives from the La Leche League visited every new mother with pamphlets and coupons and stuff (and I'm pretty sure that's a private organization, just wandering the hospital hallways). A hospital salesperson tried to rent us a breastpump. We condisered hanging a sign on the door saying, "Yes, we're breastfeeding," just to keep people away.

(Similarly, I've been wearing the same "I Voted" button every election day for six years.)

 

[fls]

When I nursed my child in a semi-public room at the Mall of the Americas in Minneapolis, other women looked at me like I was crazy, dangerous, or both. It was most unexpected, as Minnesota is extremely liberal politically; that does not apparently carry over into social mores.

May I offer up my own anecdote to counter yours?

I breastfed two babies in public (no, not at the same time) when I lived in Minnesota without suffering any dirty looks. On the other hand, I was extremely discreet about it, as I am generally a very private person (although one episode was in my seat at a Minnesota North Stars hockey game). My employers also offered breast pumps and private rooms for expressing milk. However, fridges stuffed with breast milk were unusual - so unusual that an overly officious nurse finding my milk in the fridge threw it all out (yes, I did freak out - it represented 36 hours worth of milk and low stocks meant my baby wouldn't have enough to drink) because it looked funny.

Linda

 

[Eos of the Eons]

The hospital where we had our sons was almost cultish in its insistance on breastfeeding. There were breastfeeding consultants on hand and breastfeeding classes. Representatives from the La Leche League visited every new mother with pamphlets and coupons and stuff (and I'm pretty sure that's a private organization, just wandering the hospital hallways). A hospital salesperson tried to rent us a breastpump. We condisered hanging a sign on the door saying, "Yes, we're breastfeeding," just to keep people away.

(Similarly, I've been wearing the same "I Voted" button every election day for six years.)

That's funny, the alties say that hospitals push formula. Of course, I had your experience in a hospital instead of that. Not a lick of evidence that hospitals push formula, but that doesn't stop the forked tongues a wagging. I nursed 3 babies, the longest for 7 months.

 

[Lisa Simpson]

The hospitals I gave birth in pushed breast feeding too. Yes, I did get samples of formula, but no one said "these are better than breastfeeding". I nursed my kids for 10 months, 15 months and 18 months, respectively and I never had anyone complain about my nursing in public. I wore special "nursing shirts" to hide the goodies.

 

[pgwenthold]

I am wondering about the recommendation for "only breast milk" for the first 6 months. With Offspring the Elder, he had breast milk exclusively for the first 4.5 mos or so, at which point we started introducing cereal (made from breast milk). By the end of about 5 mos, he was starting some baby food in addition to cereal. However, in terms of milk, he was still on only breast milk until about 6 mos, when I started cutting his breast milk with a little formula (maybe 1/2 and 1/2) because his mom couldn't get enough from pumping to satisfy his needs (she pumped all the time at work and whenever she could).

So are they really recommending nursing exclusively? Our pediatrician recommended introducing solid foods somewhere in the 4 - 5 mo range.

 

[iknownothing]

I am always surprised by articles like this, simply because in Lesser Seattle it is somewhat assumed that--barring a physical complication that prevents it--you will breastfeed your baby, even if you are back at work. The number of refrigerators at offices in this area that have bottles of labelled, pumped-at-work breastmilk is quite large.

Most of the people I know breastfeed, so I kind of thought it was the norm. But when my son started daycare, he was the first baby there to be getting breastmilk. They had to have a staff training on it.

That's funny, the alties say that hospitals push formula. Of course, I had your experience in a hospital instead of that. Not a lick of evidence that hospitals push formula, but that doesn't stop the forked tongues a wagging. I nursed 3 babies, the longest for 7 months.

I had the hospital pushing formula with both of my health, term babies because they were jaundiced (but not enough to need hospitalization). With the second baby, when I resisted and said I really wanted to stick with breastfeeding, I had the nurse ask me "but have you considered the benefits of formula feeding?" I was sent home with formula company "gift" bags with both.

 

[iknownothing]

I am wondering about the recommendation for "only breast milk" for the first 6 months. With Offspring the Elder, he had breast milk exclusively for the first 4.5 mos or so, at which point we started introducing cereal (made from breast milk). By the end of about 5 mos, he was starting some baby food in addition to cereal. However, in terms of milk, he was still on only breast milk until about 6 mos, when I started cutting his breast milk with a little formula (maybe 1/2 and 1/2) because his mom couldn't get enough from pumping to satisfy his needs (she pumped all the time at work and whenever she could).

So are they really recommending nursing exclusively? Our pediatrician recommended introducing solid foods somewhere in the 4 - 5 mo range.

When my son was born in 2005, the doctor said to start solids at 4 months. When my daughter was born in 2007, he said the recommendation had changed, and that formula-fed babies can start solids at 4 months, but if you were breastfeeding they'd like you to keep it exclusive with no solids until 6 months.

 

[Loss Leader]

I nursed 3 babies, the longest for 7 months.

My oldest son simply stopped breastfeeding 1 day before his first birthday. He just flat-out refused after that. We stopped my second son on his first birthday and he never complained in the least. In both cases, we were extensively prepared for weaning, and in neither case were any of the books, videos, puppets, stage plays or musical numbers necessary.

 

[pgwenthold]

That's funny, the alties say that hospitals push formula. Of course, I had your experience in a hospital instead of that. Not a lick of evidence that hospitals push formula, but that doesn't stop the forked tongues a wagging. I nursed 3 babies, the longest for 7 months.

Our hospital strongly advocated breastfeeding as well, and even provided a lactation consult that was available at weekly meetings (and had a phone hot line) for advice. The actual pediatricians are less gung-ho about it, and treat it more realistically, with a "we prefer you breastfeed, but if you need to use formula, that is ok, too." Our doc, however, does say he prefers that you stick with the major brands of formula (Infamil, Similac, etc) and not use the WalMart brand because the major brands have R&D going on that keeps their formula improving.

We did get a few free samples of formula from the hospital (we got as many as we could). As I mentioned above, we mostly nursed, but did start blending with formula as time went on. I think through the first year, we bought all of 3 of the big cans of formula, and the rest was through freebies.