Dear all,
Although mostly listening, I now want to chime in.
I can understand, where the Yale study comes from (although I didn't read it myself, only the content you provided to me). And: I have written something similar in 2014, together with Elizabeth Horman and Veronika Scherbaum - in Germany: the high cost of halfhearted breastfeeding promotion in Germany: https://internationalbreastfeedingjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13006-014-0022-5
Of course the Yale study is centered in the USA, with miserably parental leave regulations and a very high pumping percentage - this will be different in other countries, notably in western Europe - Germany has excellent parental leave provisions (at least that - there is still much to be wished for).
This said: what we see is, that the costs of breastfeeding is burdened upon the mothers and the families, where as the profit of breastfeeding in the health system (see work Melissa Bartick and others) and the environment is gained by society.
Mothers pay for the pumps. Mothers pay for lactation consultants in most parts of the world, when breastfeeding support is needed. Mothers pay also for costs of not working - because at that moment they cannot contribute to their pensions (anyway this is in Germany the case). And they sometimes pay, because they cannot progress in their careers - because in many companies (countries???) in our capitalist world it is seen as not enough devoted to the employer, when you take care taking jobs. This also counts for mothers who feed their babies with bottles, but here the separation of mother and child, although often detrimental for both, is taken into account (and may be even the reason, that a family takes the choice to bottle feed).
I also recommend the (older) book: Beyond health, beyond choice - breastfeeding constraints and realities, edited by Paige Hall Smith, Bernice L. Hausman and the unforgettable Miriam Labbok (2012).
Until we address the structural societal obligations in the support of breastfeeding, I am afraid, that many, especially underprivileged women, will say "the cost of breastfeeding are too high".
Just my 2cts.
Kind regards,
Elien Rouw
Elien Rouw, MD, FABM
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Betreff: LACTNET Digest - 21 Apr 2023 to 23 Apr 2023 (#2023-19)
There is 1 message totaling 49 lines in this issue.
Topics of the day:
1. Cost of breastfeeding (Yale Study)
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Date: Mon, 24 Apr 2023 11:47:17 +1000
From: Karleen Gribble <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: Cost of breastfeeding (Yale Study)
Hi Naomi,I haven't read the paper from Yale, however I just wanted to say that that with some colleagues I have written a paper (currently under review) that addresses the questions you asked and other issues and *hopefully* presents a blueprint for advocates of women's equality and breastfeeding to use in their advocacy with governments. I will share when it is published.Karleen GribbleAustralia
----- Original Message -----
From: "Lactation Information and Discussion"
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Sent:Sat, 22 Apr 2023 00:00:31 -0400
Subject:LACTNET Digest - 20 Apr 2023 to 21 Apr 2023 (#2023-18)
From: Naomi Bar-Yam
Subject: Fwd: Cost of breastfeeding (Yale Study)
Hi Donna,
Do you have the article itself? It is really hard to know from the Yale newsletter write up what the article actually measures. You are asking important questions, I just don’t know if they are considered in the article.
1. Indeed, moms do multi task when they are breastfeeding. How is that measured in economic models?
2. Formula feeding also takes time and resources. I don’t know if this article is an economic comparison, or an analysis of breastfeeding alone.
3. Babies fed formula can be prepared and fed by others. I don’t know how that is accounted for in the article.
4. You are right that pregnancy and maternity leave impact career advancement, independent of breastfeeding. I’m sure there are analyses of how much breastfeeding alone impacts these things, but I am not familiar with them
Economic models are imperfect, subject to many constraints that do not always reflect “real life.” We try to learn from them anyway and apply them as we can, keeping in mind that they models and not life.
I hope that the message taken from this research is policies should reflect the economic value of breastfeeding.
Naomi
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