FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Washington, DC - November 1, 2011 - The economic benefits of breastfeeding are substantial—if 90 percent of American babies were breastfed exclusively for 6 months, the U.S. could save an estimated $13 billion annually from reduced direct medical costs, indirect costs and the cost of premature death.¹

However, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only 15 percent of the 75 percent of mothers who initiate breastfeeding meet the AAP’s recommendation to provide exclusively breast milk for the first 6 months of an infant’s life. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), the Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding, and "The Business Case for Breastfeeding," developed by the Health Resources and Services Administration's Maternal and Child Health Bureau, all point to the important role of health plans and businesses in supporting breastfeeding initiation and continuation upon returning to work.

This webinar explored the ways health plans and businesses can promote breastfeeding. Speakers shared research and cost statistics illustrating the potential for breastfeeding to improve the quality of life of mothers and infants, lower health care costs, and improve employee retention and productivity. A representative from the Volunteer State Health Plan explained the plan’s commitment to preventing low birth weight through programs that provide access to breast pumps for members with infants in the neonatal intensive care unit. A representative from Horizon Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Jersey, which was recently named to the Working Mother 100 Best Companies list, described Horizon’s worksite lactation program and showed how the minimal cost of setting up the program has yielded high returns in employee loyalty and productivity.

The webinar included the following presentations:

• Supporting Breastfeeding Benefits Everyone, Laurie Beck, RN, MSN, IBCLC, President, U.S. Lactation Consultant Association, and Cathy Carothers, BLA, IBCLC, FILCA, Co-Director, Every Mother, Inc.
• Breastfeeding for NICU Infants: Aims to Improve Health, Combat Infant Mortality, David Moroney, MD, MSHA, Chief Medical Officer, Volunteer State Health Plan
• Promising Practices – Continuing the Maternal Bond at Work, Xavia Mitchell, Diversity/Work Life Specialist, Horizon Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Jersey

Please visit our website to view an archive of the webinar, download copies of the presentations, and view previous NIHCM webinars on maternal, child and adolescent health topics.

¹The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding. Office of the Surgeon General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Washington DC, 2011.

NIHCM Foundation is a nonprofit, nonpartisan group that conducts research on health care issues. The Foundation disseminates research findings and analyses that promote and enhance access to health care and the efficiency and effectiveness of health care services and delivery.

Contact:
Nancy Chockley
President and CEO
NIHCM Foundation
www.nihcm.org
email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
(202) 296-4426

This webinar was sponsored by the National Institute for Health Care Management Research and Educational Foundation under a cooperative agreement with the Maternal and Child Health Bureau of the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration.

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