Breastfeeding Tips & Benefits: Study Suggests it can Help Save Lives, Improve the Economy

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A new study reveals that breastfeeding is also good for the economy on top of saving children's lives.

Multiple researchers show that breastfeeding can save hundreds of thousands of children's lives and prevent mothers from developing breast cancer in the future.

The two-part study published in the Lancet states a fifth of babies in high-income countries, including the US, are breastfed up to 12 months. However, babies from low to middle-income countries fared better as only a third are breastfed until six months old.

Researchers looked at the data from 28 studies and determined that more than 800,000 children under the age of five around the world could be saved annually through breastfeeding and around 20,000 breast cancer deaths could be prevented worldwide.

"Breastfeeding is one of the few positive health behaviors that is more common in poor than richer countries, and within poor countries, is more frequent among poor mothers," the researchers wrote in a press release.

The longer a baby is breastfed, the more they are intelligent, have lower death rates and have better immune systems than those who were breastfed for a short time or not at all. According to WebMD, breastfeeding lowers a baby's risk of allergies, asthma, ear infections, respiratory illnesses, diarrhea, and obesity. The mother also reduces her risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer.

The health benefits brought about by breastfeeding can also help the economy as it cut the costs of treatments in children. According to researchers, if breastfeeding rates will be raised in high-income countries including US, UK, and China, the government will save at least US$2.45 billion in the U.S., US$29.5 million in the U.K. and US$223.6 million in China.

The Guardian notes that breastfeeding campaign groups hope that the two-part research will allow new changes in policies in favor of mothers, especially those in the workforce.

"Breastfeeding is one of the most cost-effective interventions for newborn health, but the support needed is too often lacking," said Brigid McConville of the White Ribbon Alliance, a maternal health group.

"Lancet's evidence will help citizen advocates push their governments to improve policies, and above all hold governments to account for their actions, making sure the policies lead to more support for new mothers and better health for their newborns."

According to CBS News, several of the many hindrances against breastfeeding encouragement and support are the breast milk substitutes market and the six-week maternity leaves. The baby formula industry raked in more than $44 billion in 2014 alone.

An Obstetrician-Gynecologist told the outlet that there are challenges for women who are in particularly demanding professions in the US.

"There aren't many jobs where you can walk away from your job and do every few hours," the expert said. "In New York and elsewhere here in the U.S., we work very long workdays, maybe 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. at night and with a commute that may extend the day from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m."

She explains that there is no clear-cut solution but hopes that policies will be improved for new mothers.