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There's been lots of coverage of the recent Pediatrics study that breastfeeding lowers health care costs and saves infant lives. Here's my take on the study and the chatter, and what I think about reaching the 90% goal stated in the study.

Please read the article and share your thoughts here...

Breastfeeding and Health Care Costs

I wish I was able to breastfeed, but I nearly died from birth complications and post-op infection and was placed on antibiotics after the birth of my firstborn. My second baby came prematurely and could not suckle. It took weeks of sucking therapy for her to learn, and by then, my milk stopped developing plus they wanted to be able to measure how much she was drinking.

The good news is that I WAS able to nurse my third baby--at least for four months. I treasure that experience even though it wasn't easy toward the end with very painful, cracked nipples and a baby who bit!

Breastfeeding is best for the baby, regardless of saving healthcare costs. No baby that I've heard of develops an allergy to its mother's milk. Mine did when I put my son on a manufactured formula and the a soy formula. He really suffered from gastrointestinal problems, poor baby. I wish I cold have nursed him

Nature knows best.

Chi... wow.. you were really put through the ringer. I'm so glad that you were able to experience nursing with your third, although I wish that I or someone could have offered you some support to have alleviated your pain.

Another piece of good news is that many hospitals are becoming so much more experienced at helping mothers of preemies, for whom breastmilk can be so important. This is a constantly evolving area of support.

But it is important to remember that there are times when breastfeeding simply has to take a backseat to maternal health or infant care as in your cases -- and THAT is what ABM is for!! But these cases like yours are a lot rarer than they would seem and a few days of support from hospitals could yield riches in preserving mom and baby's ability to nurse when it *is* possible.

I'm glad to hear you express no *guilt* about your situations -- you know you did what was needed for you and your baby each time, even if you wish things had gone differently. Breastfeeding advocacy gets so easily tangled up in issues of regret or guilt. Thanks for spreading the message without falling into that trap.

Warmly,

Well, I did pum some breastmilk for my second child and they used that to feed as she went through suck therapy. It wasn't much nor for very long and I hope even that little bit helped!

But, I do wish I knew more or I would have definitely pumped breastmilk for all of her feedings. Initially, she had to be gavage fed. I didn't realize that I could have given her breastmilk for that!

I learned the hard way. I weaned my son at 9 months due to selfish reasons and at 10 months he contracted diarhea and lost too much fluid. We just got him to hospital in time, he was hours away from death.
This time I'm going for 2 years.