Milk Money
Is breastfeeding really cheaper than formula? Not always.
by Kate Tuttle
July 7, 2008
The boob, the whole boob, and nothing but the boob: $0-$100
The breastfeeding mother who stays home the entire first year with her baby and successfully nurses on demand can get away with spending literally no money on her child's nutrition until she introduces solids (and then, if she follows the dictates of the baby-led-weaning movement she will spend no more than she's already spending on the family's meals). This mom requires no formula, no bottles, no pump, no lactation consultant, no Boppy. If you allow for a few nice nursing bras or tanks, you can figure her expenditures for baby's first year at around $100. Of course, she can't be away from her baby for long, which means she probably needs to be able to survive without a job. This kind of breastfeeding is pretty much the exclusive province of women who are independently wealthy or who have partners who make enough to support the family.
The boob, at all costs: $410-$2,000
Some women desperately want to breastfeed their children, and have nothing but trouble along the way.
Click to view chart.
Some women desperately want to breastfeed their children, and have nothing but trouble along the way. In the worst-case scenario, this can add up to a very expensive, not to mention heartbreaking and exhausting, situation. Between lactation consultants, breast pumps, special herbs and tinctures and even prescription medication, the cost of breastmilk can be high indeed.
Formula, Bargain Basement: $1,167.77-$1,217.44
Some babies get formula in bottles right from the start, and their parents never look back. But there are bottles and there are bottles. For the truly needy, formula and other bottle-feeding supplies can be obtained free of charge from WIC (the federal nutrition program for Women, Infants and Children). (According to the Washington Post, the WIC program purchases nearly 60% of the infant formula purchased in this country, despite official government policies to promote breastfeeding.) For the rest, there are free bottles to be had from pediatricians and hospitals at the beginning, and coupons available from the major formula companies for months to come. And given federal regulations mandating strict guidelines for infant formula nutrition, there's no real reason to buy anything but the store brands from Target, Wal-Mart, or Costco, which clock in at under half the price of their name-brand twins.
©2008 Kate Tuttle and Nerve Media
About the Author
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Kate Tuttle is a writer and editor raising two children just outside Boston. |
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