Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

SAGETRACK

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
Journal of Human Lactation
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Riordan, J. M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Riordan, J. M.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati  
What's this?

The Cost of Not Breastfeeding: A Commentary

Janice M. Riordan, EdD, RN, FAAN

School of Nursing, Wichita State University, Kansas.

Breastfeeding, a valuable natural resource, promotes health, helps prevent infant and childhood disease, and saves health care costs. Additional annual national health care costs, incurred for treatment of four medical conditions in infant who were not breastfed were estimated. Infant diarrhea in nonbreastfed infants costs $291.3 million; respiratory syncytial virus, $225 million; insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, from $9.6 to $124.8 million; and otitis media, $660 million. Thus, these four medical diagnoses alone create just over $1 billion of extra health care costs each year. Breastfeeding may also enhance intellectual development of children according to at least one medical research study. The potential societal benefits of more intelligent children is incalculable even though it cannot be directly measured in terms of dollars. Finally, it was calculated that an additional $2,665,715 in federal funds is needed yearly in order for WIC to provide infant formula to nonbreastfeeding mothers. For the average family, the cost of purchasing formula is twice the cost of supplemental food for the breastfeeding mother. Breastfeeding education and support should be an integral part of health care, especially under managed care which rewards the prevention of health problems and reduced use of health services.

Key Words: breastfeeding • costs • childhood disease • formula • health care

Journal of Human Lactation, Vol. 13, No. 2, 93-97 (1997)
DOI: 10.1177/089033449701300202
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 J Hum LactHome page
J. A. F. Tender, J. Janakiram, E. Arce, R. Mason, T. Jordan, J. Marsh, S. Kin, Jianping He, and R. Y. Moon
Reasons for In-Hospital Formula Supplementation of Breastfed Infants From Low-Income Families
J Hum Lact, February 1, 2009; 25(1): 11 - 17.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 J Hum LactHome page
F. Jones
History of North American Donor Milk Banking: One Hundred Years of Progress
J Hum Lact, August 1, 2003; 19(3): 313 - 318.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 J Hum LactHome page
C. Auer and K. K. Gromada
A Case Report of Breastfeeding Quadruplets: Factors Perceived as Affecting Breastfeeding
J Hum Lact, June 1, 1998; 14(2): 135 - 141.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 J Hum LactHome page
N. Bernshaw
Cost of Not Breastfeeding
J Hum Lact, December 1, 1997; 13(4): 277 - 277.
[PDF]