Since breastfeeding is a hot-button issue around these parts, I thought I would share with you the latest study to appear in the Journal of Pediatrics. Basically, it just put a number and dollar amount on the lives that would be saved if 90 percent of mothers in the United States breastfed their babies. From the Associated Press:

"The findings suggest that there are hundreds of deaths and many more costly illnesses each year from health problems that breast-feeding may help prevent. These include stomach viruses, ear infections, asthma, juvenile diabetes, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and even childhood leukemia.

"The magnitude of health benefits linked to breast-feeding is vastly underappreciated, said lead author Dr. Melissa Bartick, an internist and instructor at Harvard Medical School. Breast-feeding is sometimes considered a lifestyle choice, but Bartick calls it a public health issue.

"Among the benefits: Breast milk contains antibodies that help babies fight infections; it also can affect insulin levels in the blood, which may make breast-fed babies less likely to develop diabetes and obesity.

"The analysis studied the prevalence of 10 common childhood illnesses, costs of treating those diseases, including hospitalization, and the level of disease protection other studies have linked with breast-feeding.

"The $13 billion in estimated losses due to the low breast-feeding rate includes an economists' calculation partly based on lost potential lifetime wages — $10.56 million per death."

About 43 percent of U.S. mothers do at least some breastfeeding for the first six months of their babies' lives. But only 12 percent follow government guidelines recommending that babies exclusively receive breastmilk for six months.

The lead author of the study, Bartick, made an excellent point that should not go missed. Mothers should not be blamed for not breastfeeding. Instead, workplaces need to accommodate nursing mothers and hospitals need to help out with that initial latch.

"Bartick said there are some encouraging signs. The government's new health care overhaul requires large employers to provide private places for working mothers to pump breast milk. And under a provision enacted April 1 by the Joint Commission, a hospital accrediting agency, hospitals may be evaluated on their efforts to ensure that newborns are fed only breast milk before they're sent home.

"The pediatrics academy says babies should be given a chance to start breast-feeding immediately after birth. Bartick said that often doesn't happen, and at many hospitals newborns are offered formula even when their mothers intend to breast-feed.

"'Hospital practices need to change to be more in line with evidence-based care,' Bartick said. 'We really shouldn't be blaming mothers for this.'"