Why do people say “formula is SO expensive”?

[Anonymous]

Are they only speaking in relative terms? Obviously anything that costs money is more expensive than something that is free.

The other thread got me thinking about when I decided to stop BF and got so much pushback about the $40 a week I now had to spend on this living human child I decided to birth. “But formula is SO expensive!”

Now that living child is a teenager and I assure you, I miss the days when she only cost me $40 a week to feed.

I don’t want to get into a debate because fed is best, but why do people act like the most expensive thing you’ll ever provide for a child is formula?

End rant.

[Anonymous]

This is your reminder that Baby Formula in this country is a monopoly industry. https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2022/05/19/the-corporate-monopolies-behind-americas-baby-formula-crisis

Just three companies control the entire infant formula market in the United States.

And half of all the formula sold in the U.S. gets to families through the federal Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC).

“But the way [the] WIC lays out the actual contracting, the USDA gives the money to each state, and then each state chooses one of these manufacturers, and gives them the contract for the whole state," Matt Stoller, director of research at the American Economic Liberties Project, says.

"It means that every retailer in the state is basically going to carry only that brand. Because half of your customers [aren't] ... able to look at any other manufacturers’ items.”
"One is ... Abbott Labs. Which is a $200 billion company. And domestic baby formula represents less than 5% of their revenue. So they don't really care that much about this division. And their factory was a mess. They had old equipment. It was dirty. The FDA told them multiple times, You've got to clean this up. This is the factory that eventually the FDA said, okay, we're shutting this factory down until you clean it up.

"There was an FDA inspection in September. They said, hey, you guys are wearing dirty shoes in the sterile rooms that make infant formula. Then a whistleblower said, look, they're falsifying records. They're not looking into consumer complaints when babies get sick. And then there was another inspection in January and February. And finally, the FDA just shut the factory down. And so that's kind of problem one.

[Anonymous]

I think if you're a middle/upper middle class family, and particularly a two working parents family, you're right, formula is a drop in the bucket.

If you're a single income family in a rural area where mom is home all the time, making $50k a year (roughly the median household income in West Virginia) $2,500 a year in formula is a HUGE expense. And you can't bring that down. It's not like you can grow your own or buy used or something. If you can't or don't nurse, you're out $2,500.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think if you're a middle/upper middle class family, and particularly a two working parents family, you're right, formula is a drop in the bucket.

If you're a single income family in a rural area where mom is home all the time, making $50k a year (roughly the median household income in West Virginia) $2,500 a year in formula is a HUGE expense. And you can't bring that down. It's not like you can grow your own or buy used or something. If you can't or don't nurse, you're out $2,500.

But it was our cohort who would preach this to us, not single moms or the disadvantaged. These people were preparing to send their kids to private school, travel ball teams, buying them cars at 16, hoping to get them into the best colleges soon. That’s why it always struck me as such an odd thing to say.

[Anonymous]

People say it’s expensive because it’s expensive. You’re an adult, surely you can understand that an additional $200 expense per month is more than $0 per month spent on breastfeeding.

[Anonymous]

I think some of it is overall general baby shock. All of a sudden, diapers and formula need to be part of your budget. It's not that you didn't have 9 months to prepare for this scenario, it's that you were focused on the fun side of having a baby. Now that the finances are hitting you weekly, it's an overall general shock. Same with daycare.

[Anonymous]

It's not just the formula that costs either. You need bottles, different nipples for different ages, a sterilizer, a this and that ... it all adds up.

[Anonymous]

UMC people on this forum shouldn't be complaining about formula or diaper costs. I can see why poor to middle class people complain about it, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People say it’s expensive because it’s expensive. You’re an adult, surely you can understand that an additional $200 expense per month is more than $0 per month spent on breastfeeding.

As I said. But in the grand scheme of parenting expenses, most of which are long term and expected (such as feeding your child), that $40 a week—to those who can afford it, which we are—is such a non issue. It’s a short-term expense and one of the cheaper ones. Fine me a parent of a solid food-eating child who can feed them for less than $40 a week, realistically.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's not just the formula that costs either. You need bottles, different nipples for different ages, a sterilizer, a this and that ... it all adds up.

You need all of that if you’re working and breastfeeding, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People say it’s expensive because it’s expensive. You’re an adult, surely you can understand that an additional $200 expense per month is more than $0 per month spent on breastfeeding.

The lies you tell.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People say it’s expensive because it’s expensive. You’re an adult, surely you can understand that an additional $200 expense per month is more than $0 per month spent on breastfeeding.

As I said. But in the grand scheme of parenting expenses, most of which are long term and expected (such as feeding your child), that $40 a week—to those who can afford it, which we are—is such a non issue. It’s a short-term expense and one of the cheaper ones. Fine me a parent of a solid food-eating child who can feed them for less than $40 a week, realistically.

People are talking about formula vs. nursing, not formula vs. feeding a teenager. Don’t be obtuse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People say it’s expensive because it’s expensive. You’re an adult, surely you can understand that an additional $200 expense per month is more than $0 per month spent on breastfeeding.

The lies you tell.

Right? lol Who is spending a grand total of $0 to breastfeed. Are you working? Any idea how much a pump costs? Pump accessories? Bags? The electricity to power the pump and the freezer you keep your stash in? Nursing bras? What else am I missing?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People say it’s expensive because it’s expensive. You’re an adult, surely you can understand that an additional $200 expense per month is more than $0 per month spent on breastfeeding.

The lies you tell.

Tell me about the monthly expenses of nursing, then. After you’re set up with your reusable bottles and a pump, how much are you spending on nursing each and every month?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People say it’s expensive because it’s expensive. You’re an adult, surely you can understand that an additional $200 expense per month is more than $0 per month spent on breastfeeding.

As I said. But in the grand scheme of parenting expenses, most of which are long term and expected (such as feeding your child), that $40 a week—to those who can afford it, which we are—is such a non issue. It’s a short-term expense and one of the cheaper ones. Fine me a parent of a solid food-eating child who can feed them for less than $40 a week, realistically.

People are talking about formula vs. nursing, not formula vs. feeding a teenager. Don’t be obtuse.

But in 12 months you’ll be feeding your child real food. It costs more than $40. And BFing largely isn’t free, as noted above. Why are middle class people acting like $40 a week is some giant setback just because it’s happening 12 months early? It’s bizarre.