Some of you may have seen this before. I hadn't:

A study conducted by Kaiser Permanente, one of the largest HMOs in the
country, found that nursing employees save their employer's money because they
have fewer medical infant claims and lower absenteeism rates than mothers who
do not nurse. •Since Aetna started its lactation program one year ago (in
1997), it estimates a savings of $1,435 per employee on medical claims—
additional savings attributed to reduced absenteeism rates in nursing
employees. (Mothers who formula-fed their babies missed work to care for their
infants, on average, three more days per year than mothers who nursed their
babies.) The total company savings amounted to $108,737 in 1997— a three-to-
one return on investment in medical claims alone. (U.S. News & World Report,
Dec. 15, 1997) •According to a 1995 study conducted at the Los Angeles
Department Of Water And Power (by Cohen And Mark), nursed infants were 36
percent healthier than formula-fed babies, which reduced working mothers'
absenteeism rates by 27 percent. Mothers of formula-fed babies missed work
more often because their babies were ill three times more than nursed babies.

FRom the DCC Mothers@Work website (thanks Naomi!)

Katie Allison Granju
Author, _Attachment Parenting: Instinctive Care for Your Baby and Young Child_
Simon and Schuster (Summer, '99)