Pat, 
Your theory has a ring of truth, however, most hospitals that I have worked at don't seem to be able to see past the next pay period.  They will even do things that in the long term (6 months) will cause them to have to spend more money in order to save money in the short term (next 2 weeks).  We complain about insurance companies not be farsighted enough to do preventative health care, hospitals don't do preventative care for their own budgets in most cases.  I think laying off lactation consultants is a good example.  If they get rid of that expense now, it will look good for a while.  When mothers start seeking other hospitals to deliver in order to get LC care, they will lose money in the long term.
We are lucky in our area that our primary insurers ask for lactation care in the contracts they sign with the hospital for maternity care--now if we could just get them to demand a standard (so many LC's per deliveries/24 hour coverage) we would be getting somewhere...
Glenda Dickerson RN, MS, IBCLC
Birmingham, AL USA
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