Cut healthcare costs by encouraging breastfeeding

International Breastfeeding Symbol

August is National Breastfeeding month. One of the most simple ways that any mother of any child can give their baby the best chance at good health is through breastfeeding. Thanks to the technology of breast pumps and medication that helps with lactation, preemies, infants with palate issues, and infants on feeding tubes can get breast milk. As someone who has had to do this, while it may not be an easy thing to do, it is worth it knowing that your baby is getting the best food for them. Keep an eye out for my upcoming article on breastfeeding a preemie and medically fragile infant.

There are situations out there where breast milk is medically not ideal for a child, and there are situations where a mother is physically unable to breastfeed her child. This article is not a slight to anyone in that type of situation. However, for the majority of mothers and infants out there, breast milk, no matter how it is fed to an infant, gives them the best chance at a healthy life.
Breastfeeding an infant can reduce healthcare costs because it gives a child a good start on life and keeps them healthy. According to the BabyCenter Medical Advisory Board:

Researchers have found that immune factors that are present in colostrum (the first milk your body produces) guard against invading germs by forming a protective layer on your baby's mucous membranes in his intestines, nose, and throat. The main immune factor at work here is secretory IgA (immunoglobulin A). It's present in large amounts in colostrum — which is why it's important to start nursing your baby right after birth — but is also found in lower concentrations in mature milk.

Breastfeeding may also protect your baby from developing inflammatory bowel disease later in life. Several studies have documented a link between a lack of breastfeeding in infancy and later development of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.
Several studies have found that breastfeeding for six months or more makes it less likely that your baby will go on to develop food or respiratory allergies. At least one study has found that this protection appears to last well into adolescence. Another study found that preterm infants from families with a history of allergies had a lower risk of developing eczema than their formula-fed peers. A third study found that exclusive breastfeeding for at least the first four months after birth reduced a child's risk of developing asthma by age 6.

Scientists think that the fatty acids and immune factors such as IgA in breast milk prevent allergic reactions by stopping large foreign proteins from getting into a baby's system. (Proteins in cows' milk are one of the most common allergens, which is one reason that babies who are fed cows' milk-based formulas tend to have more allergic reactions than breastfed babies.)
Studies have shown that breastfeeding can lower a baby's risk of developing both acute lymphoblastic and acute myeloid leukemia. Scientists don't know exactly how breast milk reduces the risk of these childhood cancers, but they think antibodies in breast milk may give a baby's immune system a boost. Research into this question is ongoing.
Breastfeeding for more than six months appears to reduce a child's risk of developing insulin-dependent (type 1) diabetes. In one study, children who were breastfed for less than three months and exposed to cows' milk before 4 months had about 1.5 times the risk of developing the disease. It's not clear exactly how breast milk protects against this disease, although researchers theorize that immune factors in breast milk play a role.

Some of the most common causes of hospitalizations for children are asthma, respiratory infections, and other infections. The top causes for pediatric hospitalization according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality are: Pneumonia, Asthma, Acute bronchitis, Fluid and electrolyte disorders (dehydration), Appendicitis, Affective disorders (primarily depression), Seizures, Urinary tract infections, Intestinal infections, and Noninfectious gastroenteritis.  While breastfeeding is not able to cure these conditions, it can boost a child’s immune system so that they have a chance of fighting off illness when sick so it does not progress to a point where hospitalization is required. According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, “pneumonia, acute bronchitis, and asthma—are responsible for nearly $3 billion in charges or nearly 7 percent of the total U.S. health care bill for children and adolescents.”

There are also studies out there that breastfeeding can boost IQ, reduces the chances of obesity later in life, and decrease the risk of SIDS. However, those have not been proven. Honestly, breastfeeding will not prevent autism, make your child a genius, or turn them into a super model. But it will help them to be healthy. Also, for the mother, breastfeeding can have many benefits as well. According to the BabyCenter Medical Advisory Board:

Numerous studies have found that the longer women breastfeed, the more they're protected against breast and ovarian cancer. For breast cancer, nursing for at least a year appears to have the most protective effect. It's not entirely clear how breastfeeding helps, but structural changes in breast tissue caused by breastfeeding and the fact that lactation suppresses the amount of estrogen your body produces may play roles. Researchers think the effect on ovarian cancer may be related to estrogen suppression as well.

There's conflicting evidence about the connection between breastfeeding and bone density. It's apparent that lactating women do lose some bone density when they start breastfeeding, probably due to a calcium deficiency or low estrogen, but those losses are recovered during or after weaning. Two studies show that breastfeeding may actually improve a woman's bone density in the long run and reduce the risk of hip fractures in old age.

Congress and President Obama need to support breastfeeding and promote it as part of healthcare reform. Working to make sure that all infants who can tolerate it get breast milk in their first six months of life can save billions of dollars a year in healthcare costs.
 

If you like this article, check out my others here.

To receive future article updates by Katie McKoy, go to the top of this article, and click on the SUBSCRIBE button. Examiner.com will not share e-mail address with anyone.

Check out my blog.

Follow me on Twitter.

Become a fan on Facebook.