Study: Breast-feeding would save lives, money

By LINDSEY TANNER, AP Medical Writer - Mon Apr 5, 10:53 AM PDT

CHICAGO - The lives of nearly 900 babies would be saved each year, along with billions of dollars, if 90 percent of U.S. women fed their babies breast milk only 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.

The methods were similar to a widely cited 2001 government report that said $3.6 billion could be saved each year if 50 percent of mothers breast-fed their babies for six months. Medical costs have climbed since then and breast-feeding rates have increased only slightly.

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.

PARENTS WHO LOST BABIES TO SIDS MORE THAN ONCE!

It has been brought to my attention that there are more parents who are stepping up and contacting me who lost their children to SIDS more than once. If you are one of these parents, please send me a personal message and I am very interested in talking with you. I can be contacted via email at yolanda@joeydemellofoundation.org, via phone at 888.674.2999 or add me on Facebook, my name is Yolanda DeMello. Thank you

Today We Remember Our Angels...

I remember all the first holidays when my baby past away..They are the hardest and feels like my heart is about to get ripped apart. I never thought I could handle it. Through this journey through grief, I met my bestfriends and people that I wish I could have met under other circumstances.

I would like to remember the following babies who succumbed to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and their legacy will continue through the passion and energy of their parents...

Today we remember Lauren Gehrke who wold have been 13 years old today..She is the baby of Lorie Gehrke from Walnut Creek CA. Born April 8, 2007- August 4, 2007
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Alyssa Lux is another angel that I want everyone to remember. She was born on on December 3, 2008-April 8, 2009

Welcome!

This blog space is created to help parents and others who were touched by Sudden Infant Death Syndrome any other infant/children death. I am Yolanda, founder of the Josephine DeMello SIDS Foundation (www.endsids.org). I lost my daughter Josephine to SIDS last March 10, 2008. There is not a day that I do not miss my baby girl. Life was never the same after the tragedy. There is no such thing as "new normal" that we are forced to live or adapt. I call it "new difficult." It is difficult to get up every morning and face reality that your baby is not there to hold or care. My arms will always be empty and will never be filled. Although I may have future children and I have a beautiful 5 year old daughter, the emptiness in these arms will never be filled.

I encourage other parents, friends and families to discuss their feelings and concerns to let each other know that we are not alone on this journey through grief. We are here to support each other and understand each other. No one understand how to lose a child unless one is been there. Some one once said.."A man who loses a wife is a widower, a woman who loses a husband is a widow, a child who loses its parents is an orphan, but a parent who loses a child is unexplainabe because there is no words to describe that pain."