Lactation Consultants Improving Health by Vienna Cong For as long as we have known mothers have breastfed their babies,

but who said breastfeeding is easy? Mothers deserve home visits and 24 hr. walk-in professional breastfeeding support to help them through the new experience and discomforts that may affect the length of time they breastfeed our future generations. Imposing a new policy that would provide mothers with local lactation facilities with various consultants available to do home visits would be in addition to the phone services currently offered. First-hand experience is priceless. The lactation consultants should be available at any time of day through the phone, 24 hrs. at nearby hospitals, or ready to provide in home visit support as requested. These benefits could eventually save the mother thousands of dollars in co-payments for office visits and the insurance companys money for prescriptions and hospitalization expenses. As stated from the American Pediatric Association (AAP), A detailed pediatric cost analysis based on the AHRQ report concluded that if 90% of US mothers would comply with the recommendation to breastfeed exclusively for 6 months, there would be a savings of $13 billion per year (AAP 2012, p7). If the Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality (AHRQ) has made such a grand discovery why not take immediate action? The thirteen billion dollar savings are not only for pediatric health care efficiency and cost insurances pay for the physicians services but also for the nation because this would avoid complications and hospitalizations.

Babies who are breastfed longer and can build immunity through the natural transfer of antibodies from the mothers milk, unlike formulas that require careful preparation, can irritate the babys delicate stomach, and could cause allergies. As KidsHealth.org states, breast milk is the perfect food for a human baby's digestive system. Therefore, the six months of exclusive breastfeeding that is suggested by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as a breastfeeding guideline is a short period of time that lactation consultants can make a huge difference in that baby and mothers life. Lactation consultants are specifically trained to help mothers by teaching them the correct latching positions and holding their baby in a comfortable position. Consultants also provide helpful information about how to know when a baby is full, show methods to alleviate sore breasts, proper storage and handling of human milk, and supporting the mothers emotions from the new experience of breastfeeding by building a friendship bond.

The downfall to the benefit of having a lactation consultant is the price. As Kristina Kahney a lactation consultant at the Texas Childrens Hospital states, , our current price is $75 for a 1hr consultation, $40 for a follow up consultation. Prices like this can

surely turn away most of the mothers that need help and will prevent the baby from receiving their mothers milk from the lack of support. Insurance companies should allow lactation consultants help with the efforts of the CDC and AAP to help these mothers reach their breastfeeding confidence and give the baby a healthy future that while save money and improving the health of our nation.

References Images Columbia University (2013). Breast milk [image] http://worklife.columbia.edu/newyork-city-health-departmentlaunches-latch-nyc-initiativesupport-breastfeeding-mothers Texas Childrens Hospital (2012). Lactation consultant [image]. Retrieved from http://www.texaschildrensblog.org/2 012/12/new-baby-bistro-at-pavilionfor-women-helps-houston-mothersbreastfeed/ Literature American Academy of Pediatrics AAP (2012). Policy Statement Breastfeeding and the Use of Human Milk. Pediatrics Journal Vol. 129, 3. Retrieved from http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/ content/129/3/e827.full

Organizations such as WHO, WIC, KidsHealth.org, and the AAP provide research that proves babies who are breastfed are less likely to be overweight as adults, have less colic, reduced ear infections, have less respiratory illnesses, lower the risk of diabetes, and reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). With the increased benefits that last a lifetime, a policy to provide lactation consultants to mothers during the first six months of a babys life would have a dramatic change in the nations health and save billions in insurance costs. Improve the health of our future generations and choose to breastfeed.

Kidshealth.org (2013) Breastfeeding vs. Formula Feeding. Retrieved from http://kidshealth.org/parent/growth/f eeding/breast_bottle_feeding.html? tracking=P_RelatedArticle# Texas Childrens Hospital (2012). New Baby Bistro at Pavilion for Women Helps Houston Mothers Breastfeed. Retrieved from http://www.texaschildrensblog.org/2 012/12/new-baby-bistro-at-pavilionfor-women-helps-houston-mothersbreastfeed/