Economics and Feeding Your Baby

Recently I was interviewed about breastfeeding rates and what we could 
do to help more moms spend more time breastfeeding.  The interviewer 
asked me about the debate you might have read about in the blogs about 
the economic costs of breastfeeding.

I’m not an economist, and frankly don’t understand a lot of the short 
and long term data that supports or refutes various author’s 
conclusions about breastfeeding.  One person who is getting a lot of 
press is Hanna Rosin, who wrote an article in The Atlantic that 
described the financial cost of exclusive breastfeeding.

As you might expect, moms who are exclusively breastfeeding are less 
likely to be earning the same wages as women who use formula.  What I 
took away from her article is that it’s more difficult to return to 
work outside the home and keep up with pumping and breastfeeding.  
When people say that breastfeeding is less expensive than buying 
formula, they are right.  The cost of formula adds more to the family 
budget than a mom’s increased nutrition when she breastfeeds.

Now, when you look at the family income related to exclusive 
breastfeeding and using formula it becomes a bit different. Then you 
have to factor in the cost to the country when you take into account 
breastfed versus formula fed babies.  Here’s my question, does any 
mother really look at these arguments and make a decision about 
whether ot breastfeed or not?  I haven’t met one yet.  Yes, there are 
moms who can afford to stay home and breastfeed or use formula, and 
there are moms who must work outside the home and will either use 
pumped milk, formula or some combination. What matters to me is that 
every mom finds the solution that works best for her and her family. 
And, that we as health care providers figure out how best to help her 
in her own unique situation.