There is a sociological value in breastfeeding
The costs to society when a woman does not breastfeed are multifaceted.
As noted earlier, bottle feeding may promote a more distant, detached
parenting style and endanger healthy developmental tasks. This
may be easier to overcome than the financial burden to society.
Breastfeeding Can Save Millions in Health Care Dollars
The Woman and Infant Children Program (WIC) purchases 2.6 BILLION dollars of ABM using taxpayer monies. (Riordan 1997, 93) The "gross" amount is approximately four million dollars per day. WIC is the largest purchaser of ABM in the United States. About 37% of all infants in the U.S. are receiving WIC formula benefits.
A popular lactation consultant's bumper sticker says, "Affordable
health care begins with breastfeeding." The cost of not breastfeeding,
using four medical diagnoses;
results in an extra 1.9 billion dollars annually in health care
costs (Riordan and Auerbach 149). Healthier babies mean improved
utilization of health care resources.
At the International Lactation Consultant Association's tenth anniversary conference (Arizona, July 13-16, 1995) Miriam Lubbok, MD, calculated the potential savings to the health care industry. By protecting exclusive breastfeeding for only the first 12 weeks of life, the figures are astonishing. Breastfeeding not only protects the baby. Lactation also protects the mother. Because her circulating antibodies are elevated during lactation there is a decreased risk of common postpartum infections. Dr. Lubbok did not include the cost of ABM to the environment, or changes in female fertility patterns. She contends, "The costs of formula use to society cannot be measured when a child dies."
According to Dr. Lubbock, a mere 12 weeks of exclusive breastfeeding
would result in a net health care savings of $3.689 BILLION annually
in the United States. Savings average approximately $600.00 per
newborn. Using a hospital birth rate of 150 per month, the cost
savings are staggering. For example: 150 births per month, times
12 months, times $600.00, equals $1,080,000.00 potential savings
for one medical center alone. If we subtract the cost of a lactation
consultant's yearly salary and benefits equaling $45, 000.00 per
year. The net savings would be $ 1,035,000.00 for that same medical
center.
THE COST OF NOT BREASTFEEDING
"Breastfeeding promotes health, helps prevent infant and childhood
disease, and saves health care costs, especially important in
managed care. Potential health care cost savings from breastfeeding
in four medical diagnoses were analyzed. Results showed the following
potential savings in health care costs: Infant diarrhea, $630
million; respiratory syncytial virus, $31 million; insulin-dependent
diabetes mellitus, $72 million; and otitis media, $660 million
for a total of $1.3 billion potential saving in health care costs
using only 4 medical diagnoses. Breastfeeding also improves intellectual
development of children according to new medical research studies.
The benefits of more intelligent children on society is enormous
even though it cannot be directly measured in terms of dollars.
Finally, it was calculated that if WIC mothers breastfeed, yearly
cost savings for basic food packages would be $2,665,715. Breastfeeding
education and support should be an integral part of health care
especially in managed care where rewards are for preventing health
problems and not using health services." Abstract of a paper submitted for publication by Janice M. Riordan
EdD, RN. Associate Professor, School of Nursing Wichita State
University.
Breastfeeding is Economical for Individual Families
The cost of artificial feeding to individual families is partially measured by the price of formula. The average family will spend approximately $150.00 per month, every month for the first year. If specialized formula is required, the cost soars to a hefty $250.00 per month or $3000.00 the first year. Out of pocket expenses include medical care due to higher incidence of ear infections, gastrointestinal illness and asthma. In addition, one of the parents may loose wages if they miss work to care for a sick child.
Other costs are not as easily measured. Bottles must be washed. Formula has to be prepared and warmed before use. All these activities take time. Because the mother's fertility returns sooner if she bottle feeds, additional monies will be needed for birth control methods. Another pregnancy sooner than planned will put additional financial burdens on the family.
We must rethink breastfeeding as a part of our commitment to health and preventive medicine. We must support for breastfeeding as a sound health care practice. The administrative personnel of health insurance carriers that do not cover the cost of lactation services, should fully investigate the situation. For every dollar spent on lactation services, thousands more will not be spent treating common childhood illnesses. The author is confident that by promoting and protecting breastfeeding to its fullest potential and the proper use of lactation consultant resources, health care costs will reduce drastically.
Rarely do people think about environmental issues and breastfeeding.
Formula is not a renewable resource. The cows that produce the
milk for formula must be fed. Growing food for cattle or soybeans
for ABM uses large amounts of precious water and pollutes the
environment with fertilizer and pesticide residues. Production
uses fuel to power manufacturing. ABM also leaves solid waste
products. Each year "for every 3 million bottle fed babies, 450
million tins [cans] are discarded (Stuart-Macadam and Dettwyler
161)."
Health Care Costs of Formula-feeding in the First Year of Life PEDIATRICS Vol. 103 No. 4 April 1999, pp. 870-876
Copyright Marie Davis, RN, IBCLC 1999
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