Ball T M, Bennett D M
Department of Pediatrics and Steele Memorial Research Center, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA.
Pediatr Clin North Am. 2001 Feb;48(1):253-62. doi: 10.1016/s0031-3955(05)70298-4.
Although breastfeeding is well accepted as the optimal method of infant feeding, the US failed to reach the goals set for the year 2000. Support from employers, health insurers, health providers, and society are required to reach the goals set forth in Healthy People 2010-75% of mothers initiate breastfeeding, 50% of infants still receive breast milk at 6 months, and 25% of infants are still breastfed at 1 year of age. In today's era of cost accountability and economic competition, these groups likely will desire information regarding the financial effects of breastfeeding and breastfeeding promotion from their perspectives. Although much research still is needed in this area, evidence suggests that a significant return on investment is likely with breastfeeding promotion. Also, the finances of health care must be viewed within the concept of value. In health care, value can be thought of as the cost required to achieve a specified outcome. In lay terms, this can be thought of as "how much bang we get for our buck." Breastfeeding clearly improves the health of infants and mothers and seems to result in cost savings for parents, insurers, employers, and society, which means that the medical and economic value of breastfeeding is high. To reap the health and economic benefits associated with breastfeeding, society must support breastfeeding promotion, which most likely will necessitate a coordinated US breastfeeding program. The US government is in a unique position to accomplish this goal as it views the associated costs from the joint perspectives of employer, health insurer, medical provider, and society. Through support of such a program, the US government likely will benefit significantly by improving the health of children and its financial bottom line.
尽管母乳喂养被公认为是婴儿喂养的最佳方式，但美国未能实现为2000年设定的目标。要实现《健康人民2010》中提出的目标——75%的母亲开始母乳喂养、50%的婴儿在6个月时仍接受母乳、25%的婴儿在1岁时仍进行母乳喂养，需要雇主、健康保险公司、医疗服务提供者和社会的支持。在当今这个注重成本问责和经济竞争的时代，这些群体可能希望从自身角度了解母乳喂养及促进母乳喂养的财务影响。尽管这一领域仍需大量研究，但有证据表明，促进母乳喂养可能会带来显著的投资回报。此外，医疗保健的财务状况必须在价值概念内审视。在医疗保健领域，价值可被视为实现特定结果所需的成本。通俗地说，这可以理解为“我们花的钱能带来多少成效”。母乳喂养显然能改善婴儿和母亲的健康状况，似乎还能为父母、保险公司、雇主和社会节省成本，这意味着母乳喂养的医疗和经济价值很高。为了获得与母乳喂养相关的健康和经济效益，社会必须支持母乳喂养的推广，这很可能需要一个协调一致的美国母乳喂养计划。美国政府处于实现这一目标的独特地位，因为它从雇主、健康保险公司、医疗服务提供者和社会的联合角度看待相关成本。通过支持这样一个计划，美国政府很可能会通过改善儿童健康状况及其财务状况而受益匪浅。
