How does your state rate on the CDC’s Breastfeeding Report Card?
http://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/pdf/2011BreastfeedingReportCard.pdf
Chances are, not well. Most states aren’t doing a great job at this.
It’s a puzzle as to why, since so many states are having trouble financing Medicaid and WIC programs, and many also have state-sponsored child and/or family health insurance programs.
Breastfeeding is so important to reduce costs for families and for our state governments! Of course formula provides adequate nutrition, and many babies do just fine on it. But it’s certainly not ideal, and it definitely costs more money.
So why is breastfeeding important? Well, here are a number of articles you may peruse for more information (all from very reputable sources):
Why Breastfeeding is Important (US Office of Health & Human Services)
The Economics of Breastfeeding: A Cost/Benefit Analysis (Ph.D. in Parenting blog)
Affordable Health Care beings with Breastfeeding (USLCA)
More Breastfeeding could save U.S. billions (Reuters, citing a study in Pediatrics)
How can we get there? The answers begin in the articles linked above. But the big answers, in my opinion, are:
- Incentivize hospitals to become “Baby-Friendly“
- Get more certified Lactation Consultants into practice, both privately and employed by hospitals/pediatric medical practices/WIC organizations
- Require medical pediatric training programs (for pediatricians, obstetricians, midwives, and OB/pediatric nurses) to include a minimum amount of course hours on infant nutrition and breastfeeding
- Restrict marketing by formula companies and force them to be more WHO-compliant, and make WIC organizations only do business with companies in WHO compliance for the marketing of breast-milk substitutes