BREASTFEEDING MORE IMPORTANT

THAN PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT

Antonio Bullon

INTRODUCTION

As the medical director of the Geriatric and Neuropsychiatry Treatment Unit at MetroWest Medical Center in Natick, Massachusetts, Dr. Antonio Bullon is responsible for managing a team of health care professionals who treat patients with neurodegenerative disorders and dementia. Additionally, Dr. Antonio Bullon serves as an assistant professor of psychiatry in the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School (HMS).

HMS recently reported on a study published in the journal Maternal & Child Nutrition that says that low levels of breastfeeding in the United States not only play a role in maternal and infant mortality, but also generate billions in health care costs annually.

Thought to be the most wide-sweeping analysis of the economic and public health implications of breastfeeding in the country, the study found that the act of breastfeeding has a more profound impact on maternal health than previously thought.

BREASTFEEDING

In addition to tracking the rates of multiple diseases in mothers, including breast and premenopausal ovarian cancer, heart attacks, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes, researchers evaluated the rates of several diseases in children, encompassing acute lymphoblastic leukemia, Crohn’s disease, necrotizing enterocolitis, SIDS, ulcerative colitis, and infections of the ear, as well as the gastrointestinal and lower respiratory tracts. As a result of doing so, they determined that ensuring that mothers breastfeed at appropriate rates could save the country $4.3 billion annually.