Breastfeeding - Saves Lives and Reduces Illness

Significantly lower rates of diarrhea, ear infections, lower respiratory illness, and childhood lymphomas occur among breastfed infants and children in the United States. Breastfeeding has also been reported to protect against necrotizing enterocolitis, bacteremia, meningitis, botulism, sudden infant death syndrome, urinary tract infection, early childhood caries, juvenile diabetes, and inflammatory bowel disease. Health care costs to federal and state governments, and private healthcare systems because of NOT breastfeeding run into billions of dollars.