Anyone who says breastfeeding is cheaper than formula is full of it!

[Anonymous]

Can anyone explain why you needed more than, say, a dozen bottles? That seems really weird to me.

[Anonymous]

If your child requires special formula (nutramigen) the cost of formula feeding is INSANE... but it's all a part of parenting and only last for a year.

We have a joke that babies eat $100 bills... at the beginning you think they need so much and buy so many things that will be used for such a short period if at all.

[Anonymous]

I think this discussion comes down to the following:

1. Breastfeeding IS FREE. This is how infants around the world survive !!!

2. However, the more comfortable/better/easier/enjoyable, etc. you want to make it for yourself, (after all there are so many ways and things available to us in this area), the more 'hidden' costs could surprise you. If you have difficulty with breastfeeding, there are even more avenues of help/items available that can make the overall costs go (way) up.

3. This country has no protection for working mothers. One of only 3 (!) in the world together with Swaziland and Papua New Guinea that has no legal guarantee of paid maternity leave. Now the percentage of women in the workforce in Swaziland and Papua New Guinea is 20% lower than in the US. Therefore the US has the highest percentage of working mothers who have to leave their infants (very) early on to return to work - in the world!! If they want to feed breastmilk, they have to have access to breastpumps and all that goes with that (freezer, storage bags, bottles, etc.). Although I could not find a statistic on the following, I'm sure that the US has the highest percentage of privately owned breastpumps in the world.

4. Formula is expensive. However, the more items/comfort/avenues of help you seek as in 2., especially if you feel you need a home visit from a lactation consultant for the $300/hr that someone quoted (which by the way, in many countries it is customary that lactation consultants visit you at home for free, paid for by your - mandatory- health insurance, or in places where breastfeeding becomes a matter of survival; everyone available will give their best advice and effort to help the breastfeeding mother) the more the cost can become indistinguishable, also depending on whether you are able to reuse items/experience for future babies, and how long you eventually give breastmilk, which most people in the US do not continue to do for as long as in f.e. India (3-4 yrs on average).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think this discussion comes down to the following:

1. Breastfeeding IS FREE. This is how infants around the world survive !!!

2. However, the more comfortable/better/easier/enjoyable, etc. you want to make it for yourself, (after all there are so many ways and things available to us in this area), the more 'hidden' costs could surprise you. If you have difficulty with breastfeeding, there are even more avenues of help/items available that can make the overall costs go (way) up.

3. This country has no protection for working mothers. One of only 3 (!) in the world together with Swaziland and Papua New Guinea that has no legal guarantee of paid maternity leave. Now the percentage of women in the workforce in Swaziland and Papua New Guinea is 20% lower than in the US. Therefore the US has the highest percentage of working mothers who have to leave their infants (very) early on to return to work - in the world!! If they want to feed breastmilk, they have to have access to breastpumps and all that goes with that (freezer, storage bags, bottles, etc.). Although I could not find a statistic on the following, I'm sure that the US has the highest percentage of privately owned breastpumps in the world.

4. Formula is expensive. However, the more items/comfort/avenues of help you seek as in 2., especially if you feel you need a home visit from a lactation consultant for the $300/hr that someone quoted (which by the way, in many countries it is customary that lactation consultants visit you at home for free, paid for by your - mandatory- health insurance, or in places where breastfeeding becomes a matter of survival; everyone available will give their best advice and effort to help the breastfeeding mother) the more the cost can become indistinguishable, also depending on whether you are able to reuse items/experience for future babies, and how long you eventually give breastmilk, which most people in the US do not continue to do for as long as in f.e. India (3-4 yrs on average).

Great post, thanks!

[Anonymous]

" how long you eventually give breastmilk, which most people in the US do not continue to do for as long as in f.e. India (3-4 yrs on average). "

Eeeew.

[Anonymous]

Well said, 11:04.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well said, 11:04.

Oops, I meant 10:36.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think this discussion comes down to the following:

1. Breastfeeding IS FREE. This is how infants around the world survive !!!

2. However, the more comfortable/better/easier/enjoyable, etc. you want to make it for yourself, (after all there are so many ways and things available to us in this area), the more 'hidden' costs could surprise you. If you have difficulty with breastfeeding, there are even more avenues of help/items available that can make the overall costs go (way) up.

3. This country has no protection for working mothers. One of only 3 (!) in the world together with Swaziland and Papua New Guinea that has no legal guarantee of paid maternity leave. Now the percentage of women in the workforce in Swaziland and Papua New Guinea is 20% lower than in the US. Therefore the US has the highest percentage of working mothers who have to leave their infants (very) early on to return to work - in the world!! If they want to feed breastmilk, they have to have access to breastpumps and all that goes with that (freezer, storage bags, bottles, etc.). Although I could not find a statistic on the following, I'm sure that the US has the highest percentage of privately owned breastpumps in the world.

4. Formula is expensive. However, the more items/comfort/avenues of help you seek as in 2., especially if you feel you need a home visit from a lactation consultant for the $300/hr that someone quoted (which by the way, in many countries it is customary that lactation consultants visit you at home for free, paid for by your - mandatory- health insurance, or in places where breastfeeding becomes a matter of survival; everyone available will give their best advice and effort to help the breastfeeding mother) the more the cost can become indistinguishable, also depending on whether you are able to reuse items/experience for future babies, and how long you eventually give breastmilk, which most people in the US do not continue to do for as long as in f.e. India (3-4 yrs on average).

You make some great points, but I have to point out that in many places if your baby has poor latch, or you have no supply, and there is no one else to nurse your baby, your baby dies. So many (overwhelming majority) infants survive, but some babies that could survive (and thrive) with access to formula and clean water do die.

And 3-4 years on average in India? Do you have a cite to that? I ask because I am Indian and never heard of anyone breastfeeding that long. Maybe my family and my husband's family are not representative (totally different social classes, running the gamut from poor, illiterate farmers to wealthy descendants of royalty) so I'm curious where the 3-4 year average is coming from.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think this discussion comes down to the following:

1. Breastfeeding IS FREE. This is how infants around the world survive !!!

2. However, the more comfortable/better/easier/enjoyable, etc. you want to make it for yourself, (after all there are so many ways and things available to us in this area), the more 'hidden' costs could surprise you. If you have difficulty with breastfeeding, there are even more avenues of help/items available that can make the overall costs go (way) up.

PP who talked about 'hidden costs' here.

No. Breastfeeding is not free if you get mastitis or thrush. I did not pay for prescription drugs to make breastfeeding "more comfortable/better/easier/enjoyable". I did it so that I would not die of a deep bacterial infection and to keep myself and my child healthy.

Furthermore, you can't compare the cost of bf in DC to bf in a traditional society where a LC is free and where if you can't bf your child, it is possible that your sister or another relative may be able to do so. (For more on why we pay for things that are free in traditional societies read "Life Inc" by Douglas Rushkoff - great book).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this discussion comes down to the following:

1. Breastfeeding IS FREE. This is how infants around the world survive !!!

2. However, the more comfortable/better/easier/enjoyable, etc. you want to make it for yourself, (after all there are so many ways and things available to us in this area), the more 'hidden' costs could surprise you. If you have difficulty with breastfeeding, there are even more avenues of help/items available that can make the overall costs go (way) up.

3. This country has no protection for working mothers. One of only 3 (!) in the world together with Swaziland and Papua New Guinea that has no legal guarantee of paid maternity leave. Now the percentage of women in the workforce in Swaziland and Papua New Guinea is 20% lower than in the US. Therefore the US has the highest percentage of working mothers who have to leave their infants (very) early on to return to work - in the world!! If they want to feed breastmilk, they have to have access to breastpumps and all that goes with that (freezer, storage bags, bottles, etc.). Although I could not find a statistic on the following, I'm sure that the US has the highest percentage of privately owned breastpumps in the world.

4. Formula is expensive. However, the more items/comfort/avenues of help you seek as in 2., especially if you feel you need a home visit from a lactation consultant for the $300/hr that someone quoted (which by the way, in many countries it is customary that lactation consultants visit you at home for free, paid for by your - mandatory- health insurance, or in places where breastfeeding becomes a matter of survival; everyone available will give their best advice and effort to help the breastfeeding mother) the more the cost can become indistinguishable, also depending on whether you are able to reuse items/experience for future babies, and how long you eventually give breastmilk, which most people in the US do not continue to do for as long as in f.e. India (3-4 yrs on average).

You make some great points, but I have to point out that in many places if your baby has poor latch, or you have no supply, and there is no one else to nurse your baby, your baby dies. So many (overwhelming majority) infants survive, but some babies that could survive (and thrive) with access to formula and clean water do die.

And 3-4 years on average in India? Do you have a cite to that? I ask because I am Indian and never heard of anyone breastfeeding that long. Maybe my family and my husband's family are not representative (totally different social classes, running the gamut from poor, illiterate farmers to wealthy descendants of royalty) so I'm curious where the 3-4 year average is coming from.

Median duration of breastfeeding in India is two years, with about 25% EBF at six months.

http://worldbreastfeedingtrends.org/report/The-state-of-breastfeeding-in-33-countries-2010.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this discussion comes down to the following:

1. Breastfeeding IS FREE. This is how infants around the world survive !!!

2. However, the more comfortable/better/easier/enjoyable, etc. you want to make it for yourself, (after all there are so many ways and things available to us in this area), the more 'hidden' costs could surprise you. If you have difficulty with breastfeeding, there are even more avenues of help/items available that can make the overall costs go (way) up.

PP who talked about 'hidden costs' here.

No. Breastfeeding is not free if you get mastitis or thrush. I did not pay for prescription drugs to make breastfeeding "more comfortable/better/easier/enjoyable". I did it so that I would not die of a deep bacterial infection and to keep myself and my child healthy.
Furthermore, you can't compare the cost of bf in DC to bf in a traditional society where a LC is free and where if you can't bf your child, it is possible that your sister or another relative may be able to do so. (For more on why we pay for things that are free in traditional societies read "Life Inc" by Douglas Rushkoff - great book).

Agree. I have every resource possible so I could deal with mastitis and pain and whatnot. But I don't know if I would recommend breastfeeding to someone with access to clean water and formula, but no health insurance.

[Anonymous]

Haven’t read all the posts, but I wanted to add my personal experience. I have no doubt that breastfeeding / pumping can be super experensive for some, but I’m positive I spent less than if I was formula feeding.

I returned to work FT at 3 months. I Breastfed DS to 13 months. In that time, he received 6 oz of formula (at day care, when I apparently didn’t send enough milk, this came from one of the hospital free samples).

My expenses:
$300 for the Medela Freestyle (ordered online from addalittlelove.com)
$30 for hands free bra (also ordered from addalittlelove.com)
$120 for 3 nursing bras, 3 nursing tanks all from Target (I’m an A/B FWIW)
$30 for extra pump parts (not a necessity, but I kept these at my office in case I forgot parts one day. They only ended up being used 3-4 times, so I’ll use them as replacement parts for #2).
$40 for 6 Avent bottles (DS drank 3 bottles / day at day care, I’d nurse all other times, so 6 was plenty)
$30 for replacement nipples as old nipples aged
$50 for milk storage bags (I froze a lot of milk)
TOTAL: $600

I’m now PG with #2 and all I think I really need are new bottle nipples and milk storage bags.

[Anonymous]

Great post, 10:36! I think the real crux of the issue is that working women in the US need to spend a good amount of money to continue EBFing babies (pumps, supplies, etc.), money that could instead be spent on formula.

And if you're a working mother, then someone else is providing childcare, and feeding your baby with a bottle. If you're EBFing, it likely takes at least an hour of your day to pump/clean/etc. to provide those bottles. Or you can get all of your work time back, and provide formula.

So there's a monetary cost and time cost for working moms to EBF, which is not mentioned as much.

[Anonymous]

I had one pump, PIS, that I transported to work and back every day. I had about a dozen bottles but only used 8 a day. Four bottles of breast milk at home in the fridge, four in my bag for pumping. Why do you need so many bottles, OP? If you have oversupply using bags will save you money down the line.

I never needed replacement parts in my 12months of pumping. I did have to buy a different size flange but that was maybe $6?

With my oldest I formula fed, and due to an allergy had to feed him nutramigen. Jesus christ that cost a ton of money. The cost of formula feeding is truly the biggest reason why I decided to BF this time around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this discussion comes down to the following:

1. Breastfeeding IS FREE. This is how infants around the world survive !!!

2. However, the more comfortable/better/easier/enjoyable, etc. you want to make it for yourself, (after all there are so many ways and things available to us in this area), the more 'hidden' costs could surprise you. If you have difficulty with breastfeeding, there are even more avenues of help/items available that can make the overall costs go (way) up.

3. This country has no protection for working mothers. One of only 3 (!) in the world together with Swaziland and Papua New Guinea that has no legal guarantee of paid maternity leave. Now the percentage of women in the workforce in Swaziland and Papua New Guinea is 20% lower than in the US. Therefore the US has the highest percentage of working mothers who have to leave their infants (very) early on to return to work - in the world!! If they want to feed breastmilk, they have to have access to breastpumps and all that goes with that (freezer, storage bags, bottles, etc.). Although I could not find a statistic on the following, I'm sure that the US has the highest percentage of privately owned breastpumps in the world.

4. Formula is expensive. However, the more items/comfort/avenues of help you seek as in 2., especially if you feel you need a home visit from a lactation consultant for the $300/hr that someone quoted (which by the way, in many countries it is customary that lactation consultants visit you at home for free, paid for by your - mandatory- health insurance, or in places where breastfeeding becomes a matter of survival; everyone available will give their best advice and effort to help the breastfeeding mother) the more the cost can become indistinguishable, also depending on whether you are able to reuse items/experience for future babies, and how long you eventually give breastmilk, which most people in the US do not continue to do for as long as in f.e. India (3-4 yrs on average).

You make some great points, but I have to point out that in many places if your baby has poor latch, or you have no supply, and there is no one else to nurse your baby, your baby dies. So many (overwhelming majority) infants survive, but some babies that could survive (and thrive) with access to formula and clean water do die.

And 3-4 years on average in India? Do you have a cite to that? I ask because I am Indian and never heard of anyone breastfeeding that long. Maybe my family and my husband's family are not representative (totally different social classes, running the gamut from poor, illiterate farmers to wealthy descendants of royalty) so I'm curious where the 3-4 year average is coming from.

Median duration of breastfeeding in India is two years, with about 25% EBF at six months.

http://worldbreastfeedingtrends.org/report/The-state-of-breastfeeding-in-33-countries-2010.pdf

Interesting report. How sad, too, to see that nearly 50% of the kids in India under 5 are undernourished/stunted growth. Heartbreaking. Shame on anybody who "Icks" these mothers for continuing to breastfeed their kids-- that said, like the PP most I know in India do not breastfeed for anywhere near that long, and they introduce solid foods very early (unfortunately most of this is not very caloric, so BFing is probably better, and safer from a food safety perspective). TOTALLY different from somebody continuing to breastfeed an older kid in an affluent society with plenty of access to nutritious, safe foods. (Not that I judge that either.)