Why Breastfeeding?
Babies, mothers and Kansas all benefit when hospitals support breastfeeding
Breastfeeding can help lower a baby's risk of:
• Asthma
• Obesity
• Type 1 diabetes
• Severe lower respiratory disease
• Ear infections
• Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
• Gastrointestinal infections (diarrhea/vomiting)
Breastfeeding can help lower a mother’s risk of:
• High blood pressure
• Type 2 diabetes
• Ovarian cancer
• Breast cancer
How does Kansas benefit from breastfeeding?
• Breastfeeding can save families between $1,200–$1,500 in expenditures on infant formula in the first year alone.
• Breastfeeding leads to better infant health, which equates to fewer health insurance claims, less employee time off to care for sick children, and higher productivity.
• Mutual of Omaha found that health care costs for newborns are three times lower for babies whose mothers participate in the company’s employee maternity and lactation program.
