TABLE 1.

Selected Benefits of Breastfeeding

Health Benefits to Child	Health Benefits to Mother	Economic Benefits
Improved cognitive development	Decreased postpartum bleeding	Higher employee productivity and lower absenteeism
Bolstered immune system	Decreased menstrual blood loss	Increased employment retention by working mothers who breastfeed
Reduced incidence and severity of such conditions as bacterial meningitis, diarrhea, and urinary tract infections	Increased child spacing	Family cost savings by avoiding purchase of infant formula
Reduced risk of diabetes, lymphoma, leukemia, hypercholesterolemia, and asthma	Earlier return to prepregnancy weight	Decreased health care costs of $3.6 billion if breastfeeding rates were raised to Healthy People 2010 goals, resulting in savings to public and private insurers
Decreased risk of overweight	Decreased risk of breast and ovarian cancers

Source. Gartner et al.¹; Harder et al.²; Dietz and Hunter³; US Department of Health and Human Services⁴; Ball and Wright⁵; Bartick and Reinhold⁶; Healthy People 2010 Midcourse Review.¹⁰