Any expecting mother faces this question: to breastfeed or not to breastfeed?
To many, the answer is simple. Long recommended by experts at The American Academy of Pediatrics, the World Health Organization and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, breastfeeding seems inherently healthier, cheaper, more environmentally friendly and easier than formula feeding. Also, there’s the widespread belief that breastfeeding is an invaluable bonding experience between mother and child.
In addition to biological benefits for baby (a mother’s breast milk, after all, naturally agrees with baby’s digestive system and reduces a newborn’s risks of post-natal allergies and infections); breastfeeding can even protect mom against postnatal depression, anemia, and ovarian cancer. And, there’s the assumption that a “good” mother is a mother who breastfeeds. Of course, this assumption often presents problems for women who can’t or won’t breast feed, for a variety of reasons—something I address in my blog post, Stand Up for Mothers Who Can’t or Don’t Breast Feed.
But one aspect of breastfeeding—its economic hindrance in the long term—is under fire in a recent study that suggests that there are hidden economic consequences of breastfeeding on women’s lives.
Breast versus bottle
According to a March 2012 piece in Harper’s magazine, this isn’t the first economic debate over breast versus bottle-feeding. Mirroring a 1994 study of pediatrician Pierre Bitoun, author Elisabeth Badinter considered the cost of sterilizer, water, electricity, and materials like metal cans and plastic bottles. “When we add to that the medical savings that are ‘avoidable’ through breast-feeding and the cost of contraception for the first six months, we come to the overall figure of more than $2,000 per year per family,” Badinter said.
Ecologically, there are costs that go into the carbon footprint of converting cow’s milk into baby formula, water for washing and creating the formula, energy to heat the formula, and the environmental impact of discarded cans and bottles. No such waste occurs with breastfeeding, which often pegs bottle-feeding as inferior.
Yet, a July, 2012 New York Times article spotlighted that despite society’s praise for breastfeeding, it’s problematic for many working moms. “The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that women breast-feed for at least 12 months to get the full benefits of improved immunity for their children,” explains journalist Alissa Quart. She continues, “Nevertheless, fewer than half of American babies are breast-fed for six months. I understand why. Breast-feeding exclusively for the first year is just not feasible for many women, who sometimes get six weeks of paid maternity leave but often get none.” According to the article, The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that only 11 percent of private-sector workers get paid family leave.
In the long run, breastfeeding may not be best for all women
An April 2012 study by Phyllis L.F. Rippeyoung and Mary C. Noonan for the American Sociological Review, titled “Is Breastfeeding Truly Cost Free? Income Consequences of Breastfeeding for Women,” states that while in the short term breastfeeding is relatively cost-free, there may be long-term economic consequences of breastfeeding on a mother’s earnings over time. "In fact, very little quantitative research examines how breastfeeding impacts women’s economic status, aside from research that tallies the saved expense of not purchasing formula, and the reduction in medical costs and fewer missed work days for mothers as a result of healthier children,” they explain. The authors refer to a 2007 study done in the United Kingdom that found that when faced with coworkers who were unsupportive of their breastfeeding or the need to pump milk, women would stop breastfeeding, shorten work hours, change jobs, or quit work all together.
Rippeyoung and Noonan add that research shows there is a positive association between longer maternity leaves and longer periods breastfeeding in both Canada and the U.S. As more women succeed in the workplace, there’s tension between the demands of breastfeeding a child and logistically being able to work. Messages from groups like La Leche League, which instructs women to prioritize breastfeeding over paid work or child care, may create more pressure on moms to sacrifice career building and long-term financial stability to secure a healthy first year for their babies.
Perhaps La Leche League had praised recent reports of an American University professor breastfeeding during a lecture, much to the chagrin of some alarmed students. It was explained that the baby had a fever and could not be dropped off at daycare. The professor, a single mom, said that she took her baby into work to avoid cancelling class.
Huffington Post columnist Lisa Belkin asked, “Was it appropriate for the baby to be there in the first place? I have to say I don't think so, not if she was sick. What would have been appropriate—what should, in fact, be standard at workplaces—was for the university to have emergency babysitting available for its faculty.”
For now, it’s still unclear as to whether breast may actually be best for both family and checkbook.
References:
Badinter, Elisabeth. "The Tyranny of Breast-feeding: New Mothers vs. La Leche League." Harper's Magazine Mar. 2012: 39-44. http://harpers.org/archive/2012/03/0083830
Belkin, Lisa. "Should A Professor Breastfeed While Teaching Class?" The Huffington Post. 12 Sept. 2012. http://huff.to/RMEhDV
Newman, Susan, PhD. "Stand Up for Mothers Who Can't or Don't Breast-feed.” Psychology Today, 13 Mar. 2012. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/singletons/201203/stand-mothers-who-can-t-or-don-t-breast-feed-1
Noonan, Mary C., Rippeyoung, Phyllis L. F. “Is Breastfeeding Truly Cost Free? Income Consequences of Breastfeeding for Women.” American Sociological Review. April 2012. http://asr.sagepub.com/content/77/2/244.full.pdf+html
Quart, Alissa. "OPINION; The Milk Wars." The New York Times. 15 July 2012. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/15/opinion/sunday/the-breast-feeding-wars.html?_r=1
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Copyright 2012 Susan Newman
