Breastfeedng Saves Lives

"If most new moms would breastfeed their babies for the first six months of life, it would save nearly 1,000 lives and billions of dollars each year."

As we celebrate World Health Day today, we should be reminded about the importance of breastfeeding by this new study published in the Journal of Pediatrics.  This report further observed...

"The United States incurs $13 billion in excess costs annually and suffers 911 preventable deaths per year because our breastfeeding rates fall far below medical recommendations...

"The World Health Organization says infants should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life to achieve optimal growth, development and health. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physicians and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention all agree that breast milk alone is sufficient for newborns and infants until they are 6 months old.

"However, a 2009 breastfeeding report card from the CDC found that only 74 percent of women start breastfeeding, only 33 percent were still exclusively breastfeeding at three months and only 14 percent were still exclusively breastfeeding at six months.

Dr. Melissa Bartick, one of the new study's co-authors, says "...the vast majority of extra costs incurred each year could be saved if 80 to 90 percent of women exclusively breastfed for as little as four months and if 90 percent of women would breastfeed some times until six months. Most of the excess costs are due to premature deaths. Nearly all, 95 percent of these deaths, are attributed to three causes: sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS); necrotizing enterocolitis, seen primarily in preterm babies and in which the lining of the intestinal wall dies; and lower respiratory infections such as pneumonia.  Breastfeeding has been shown to reduce the risk of all of these and seven other illnesses studied."

Understand what is safe, environmentally friendly, and healthy when it comes to products and practices used in your program.  Help make the world a safer, healthier place for young children. The Go Green Rating Scale for Early Childhood Settings is a comprehensive, research-based tool to help you measure the greenness of your setting, evaluate your practices, and take steps toward environmental improvement that will contribute to children's potential for long, healthy lives.  Categories evaluated in the rating scale include:

• Air quality
• Cleaning products
• Chemicals found in soaps, lotions, and sunscreen
• Pests and pesticides
• Chemicals found in plastics
• Lead and other contaminants, such as mercury, formaldehyde, and fire retardants
• Stewardship and green living, including recycling and waste reduction

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