Socioeconomic development predicts a weaker contraceptive effect of breastfeeding.

The contraceptive effect of breastfeeding remains essential to controlling fertility in many developing regions of the world. The extent to which this negative effect of breastfeeding on ovarian activity is sensitive to ecological conditions, notably maternal energetic status, has remained controversial. We assess the relationship between breastfeeding duration and postpartum amenorrhea (the absence of menstruation following a birth) in 17 World Fertility Surveys and 284 Demographic Health Surveys conducted between 1975 and 2019 in 84 low- and middle-income countries. We then analyze the resumption of menses in women during unsupplemented lactation. We find that a sharp weakening of the breastfeeding-postpartum amenorrhea relationship has globally occurred over the time period analyzed. The slope of the breastfeeding-postpartum amenorrhea relationship is negatively associated with development: higher values of the Human Development Index, urbanization, access to electricity, easier access to water, and education are predictive of a weaker association between breastfeeding and postpartum amenorrhea. Low parity also predicts shorter postpartum amenorrhea. The association between exclusive breastfeeding and maintenance of amenorrhea in the early postpartum period is also found in rapid decline in Asia and in moderate decline in sub-Saharan Africa. These findings indicate that the effect of breastfeeding on ovarian function is partly mediated by external factors that likely include negative maternal energy balance and support the notion that prolonged breastfeeding significantly helps control fertility only under harsh environmental conditions.

Racial and socioeconomic disparities in breast milk feedings in US neonatal intensive care units.

Very low birth weight (VLBW; <1500 g birth weight) infants are substantially more likely to be born to black than to non-black mothers, predisposing them to potentially preventable morbidities that increase the risk for costly lifelong health problems. Mothers' own milk (MOM) may be considered the ultimate "personalized medicine" since milk composition and bioactive components vary among mothers and multiple milk constituents provide specific protection based on shared exposures between mother and infant. MOM feedings reduce the risks and associated costs of prematurity-associated morbidities, with the greatest reduction afforded by MOM through to NICU discharge. Although black and non-black mothers have similar lactation goals and initiation rates, black VLBW infants are half as likely to receive MOM at NICU discharge in the United States. Black mothers are significantly more likely to be low-income, single heads of household and have more children in the home, increasing the burden of MOM provision. Although rarely considered, the out-of-pocket and opportunity costs associated with providing MOM for VLBW infants are especially onerous for black mothers. When MOM is not available, the NICU assumes the costs of inferior substitutes for MOM, contributing further to disparate outcomes. Novel strategies to mitigate these disparities are urgently needed. IMPACT: Mother's own milk exemplifies personalized medicine through its unique biologic activity. Hospital factors and social determinants of health are associated with mother's own milk feedings for very low-birth-weight infants in the neonatal intensive care unit. Notably, out-of-pocket and opportunity costs associated with providing mother's own milk are borne by mothers. Conceptualizing mother's own milk feedings as an integral part of NICU care requires consideration of who bears the costs of MOM provision-the mother or the NICU?

Social value of maintaining baby-friendly hospital initiative accreditation in Australia: case study.

BACKGROUND: Breastfeeding has positive impacts on the health, environment, and economic wealth of families and countries. The World Health Organization (WHO) launched the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) in 1991 as a global program to incentivize maternity services to implement the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding (Ten Steps). These were developed to ensure that maternity services remove barriers for mothers and families to successfully initiate breastfeeding and to continue breastfeeding through referral to community support after hospital discharge. While more than three in four births in Australia take place in public hospitals, in 2020 only 26% of Australian hospitals were BFHI-accredited. So what is the social return to investing in BFHI accreditation in Australia, and does it incentivize BFHI accreditation? This study aimed to examine the social value of maintaining the BFHI accreditation in one public maternity unit in Australia using the Social Return on Investment (SROI) framework. This novel method was developed in 2000 and measures social, environmental and economic outcomes of change using monetary values. METHOD: The study was non-experimental and was conducted in the maternity unit of Calvary Public Hospital, Canberra, an Australian BFHI-accredited public hospital with around 1000 births annually. This facility provided an opportunity to illustrate costs for maintaining BFHI accreditation in a relatively affluent urban population. Stakeholders considered within scope of the study were the mother-baby dyad and the maternity facility. We interviewed the hospital's Director of Maternity Services and the Clinical Midwifery Educator, guided by a structured questionnaire, which examined the cost (financial, time and other resources) and benefits of each of the Ten Steps. Analysis was informed by the Social Return on Investment (SROI) framework, which consists of mapping the stakeholders, identifying and valuing outcomes, establishing impact, calculating the ratio and conducting sensitivity analysis. This information was supplemented with micro costing studies from the literature that measure the benefits of the BFHI. RESULTS: The social return from the BFHI in this facility was calculated to be AU$ 1,375,050. The total investment required was AU$ 24,433 per year. Therefore, the SROI ratio was approximately AU$ 55:1 (sensitivity analysis: AU$ 16-112), which meant that every AU$1 invested in maintaining BFHI accreditation by this maternal and newborn care facility generated approximately AU$55 of benefit. CONCLUSIONS: Scaled up nationally, the BFHI could provide important benefits to the Australian health system and national economy. In this public hospital, the BFHI produced social value greater than the cost of investment, providing new evidence of its effectiveness and economic gains as a public health intervention. Our findings using a novel tool to calculate the social rate of return, indicate that the BHFI accreditation is an investment in the health and wellbeing of families, communities and the Australian economy, as well as in health equity.

The Economic Impact of Donor Milk in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the cost-effectiveness of mother's own milk supplemented with donor milk vs mother's own milk supplemented with formula for infants of very low birth weight in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective analysis of 319 infants with very low birth weight born before (January 2011-December 2012, mother's own milk + formula, n = 150) and after (April 2013-March 2015, mother's own milk + donor milk, n = 169) a donor milk program was implemented in the NICU. Data were retrieved from a prospectively collected research database, the hospital's electronic medical record, and the hospital's cost accounting system. Costs included feedings and other NICU costs incurred by the hospital. A generalized linear regression model was constructed to evaluate the impact of feeding era on NICU total costs, controlling for neonatal and sociodemographic risk factors and morbidities. An incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was calculated for each morbidity that differed significantly between feeding eras. RESULTS: Infants receiving mother's own milk + donor milk had a lower incidence of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) than infants receiving mother's own milk + formula (1.8% vs 6.0%, P = .048). Total (hospital + feeding) median costs (2016 USD) were $169 555 for mother's own milk + donor milk and $185 740 for mother's own milk + formula (P = .331), with median feeding costs of $1317 and $936, respectively (P < .001). Mother's own milk + donor milk was associated with $15 555 lower costs per infant (P = .045) and saved $1812 per percentage point decrease in NEC incidence. CONCLUSIONS: The additional cost of a donor milk program was small compared with the cost of a NICU hospitalization. After its introduction, the NEC incidence was significantly lower with small cost savings per case. We speculate that NICUs with greater NEC rates may have greater cost savings.

Costs of maternity leave to support breastfeeding; Brazil, Ghana and Mexico.

OBJECTIVE: To develop a method to assess the cost of extending the duration of maternity leave for formally-employed women at the national level and apply it in Brazil, Ghana and Mexico. METHODS: We adapted a World Bank costing method into a five-step method to estimate the costs of extending the length of maternity leave mandates. Our method used the unit cost of maternity leave based on working women's weekly wages; the number of additional weeks of maternity leave to be analysed for a given year; and the weighted population of women of reproductive and legal working age in a given country in that year. We weighted the population by the probability of having a baby that year among women in formal employment, according to individual characteristics. We applied nationally representative cross-sectional data from fertility, employment and population surveys to estimate the costs of maternity leave for mothers employed in the formal sector in Brazil, Ghana and Mexico for periods from 12 weeks up to 26 weeks, the WHO target for exclusive breastfeeding. FINDINGS: We estimated that 640 742 women in Brazil, 33 869 in Ghana and 288 655 in Mexico would require formal maternity leave annually. The median weekly cost of extending maternity leave for formally working women was purchasing power parity international dollars (PPP$) 195.07 per woman in Brazil, PPP$ 109.68 in Ghana and PPP$ 168.83 in Mexico. CONCLUSION: Our costing method could facilitate evidence-based policy decisions across countries to improve maternity protection benefits and support breastfeeding.

Impact of breastfeeding on mortality in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review, meta-analysis, and cost-evaluation.

Sub-Saharan Africa has lower breastfeeding rates compared to other low- and middle-income countries, and globally holds the highest under-five mortality rates. The aims of this study were to estimate mortality risk for inappropriate breastfeeding, prevalence of breastfeeding, population attributable fraction, and the economic impact of breastfeeding on child mortality, in sub-Saharan Africa. The systematic review included databases from Medline and CINAHL. Meta-analysis of mortality risk estimates was conducted using random effect methods. The prevalence of breastfeeding in Sub-Saharan African countries was determined using UNICEF's database. Population attributable fraction was derived from the prevalence and relative risk data. The cost attributable to child deaths in relation to inappropriate breastfeeding was calculated using the World Health Statistics data. The pooled relative mortality risk to any kind of infant feeding compared to exclusive and early breastfeeding initiation were 5.71 (95%CI: 2.14, 15.23) and 3.3 (95%CI: 2.49, 4.46), respectively. The overall exclusive and early initiation of breastfeeding prevalence were 35%(95%CI: 32%;37%) and 47%(95%CI: 44%;50%), respectively. The population attributable fraction for non-exclusive and late breastfeeding initiation breastfeeding were 75.7% and 55.3%, respectively. The non-health gross domestic product loss resulted in about 19.5 USB$.Conclusion: Public health interventions should prioritize appropriate breastfeeding practices to decrease the under-five mortality burden and its related costs in sub-Saharan Africa. What is Known: • Globally, sub-Saharan Africa holds the highest under five mortality rates and still has lower breastfeeding rates compared to other low- and middle-income countries. • There is a significant association between child mortality and inappropriate breastfeeding practices. What is New: • A five-fold and three-fold increased risks for under-five mortality were estimated with regard to non-exclusive breastfeeding and delayed breastfeeding initiation, respectively. • 55-75% of under-five deaths can be attributable to inappropriate breastfeeding practices and at least part of them could be potentially prevented with breastfeeding promotion interventions, saving a non-health gross domestic product loss of 19.5 USB$.

Cost-effectiveness evidence for strategies to promote or support breastfeeding: a systematic search and narrative literature review.

BACKGROUND: Global health policy recommends exclusive breastfeeding until infants are 6 months. Little is known about the cost-effectiveness of breastfeeding promotion strategies. This paper presents a systematic search and narrative review of economic evaluations of strategies to support or promote breastfeeding. The aim of the review is to bring together current knowledge to guide researchers and commissioners towards potentially cost-effective strategies to promote or support breastfeeding. METHODS: Searches were conducted of electronic databases, including MEDLINE and Scopus, for economic evaluations relevant to breastfeeding, published up to August 2019. Records were screened against pre-specified inclusion/exclusion criteria and quality was assessed using a published checklist. Costs reported in included studies underwent currency conversion and inflation to a single year and currency so that they could be compared. The review protocol was registered on the PROSPERO register of literature reviews (ID, CRD42019141721). RESULTS: There were 212 non-duplicate citations. Four were included in the review, which generally indicated that interventions were cost-effective. Two studies reported that breastfeeding promotion for low-birth weight babies in critical care is associated with lower costs and greater health benefits than usual care and so is likely to be cost-effective. Peer-support for breastfeeding was associated with longer duration of exclusivity with costs ranging from £19-£107 per additional month (two studies). CONCLUSIONS: There is limited published evidence on the cost-effectiveness of strategies to promote breastfeeding, although the quality of the current evidence is reasonably high. Future studies should integrate evaluations of the effectiveness of strategies with economic analyses.

A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Rooming-in and Breastfeeding in Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal.

OBJECTIVE: Our cost-effectiveness analysis investigated rooming-in versus not rooming-in to determine optimal management of neonates with neonatal opioid withdrawal (NOW). STUDY DESIGN: A decision-analytic model was constructed using TreeAge to compare rooming-in versus not rooming-in in a theoretical cohort of 23,200 newborns, the estimated annual number affected by NOW in the United States. Additional considerations included the effect of breast milk versus formula milk in evaluating the need for pharmacotherapy. Primary outcomes were needed for pharmacotherapy and neurodevelopment. We assumed a societal perspective in evaluating costs and maternal-neonatal quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) using a willingness-to-pay threshold of $100,000/QALY. Model inputs were derived from literature and varied in sensitivity analyses. RESULTS: Rooming-in resulted in fewer neonates requiring pharmacotherapy when compared with not rooming-in. The rooming-in group had more neonates with intact/mild neurodevelopmental impairment and fewer cases of moderate to severe impairment. Rooming-in resulted in cost savings of $509,652,728 and 12,333 additional QALYs per annual cohort. When the risk ratio of need for pharmacotherapy in rooming-in was varied across a clinically plausible range, rooming-in remained the cost-effective strategy. CONCLUSION: Maternal rooming-in with newborns affected by NOW leads to reduced costs and increased effectiveness. Management strategies should optimize nonpharmacological interventions as first-line treatment.

Economic impact of breast-feeding-associated improvements of childhood cognitive development, based on data from the ALSPAC.

The aim of this study was to assess the economic benefits of improved cognitive development related to being breast-fed. Breast-feeding rates were assessed in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. Educational attainment was assessed at age 16 years with higher attainment defined as gaining five General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) passes at a high grade. The economic benefit of being breast-fed was calculated in a decision model using a child's educational attainment and the corresponding expected value of average income in later life. There was a positive association between being breast-fed and achieving higher educational attainment, which remained significant, after adjustment for possible confounders: being breast-fed <6 months yielded an OR of 1·30 (95 % CI 1·13, 1·51) and for ≥6 months yielded an OR of 1·72 (95 % CI 1·46, 2·05), compared with never breast-fed children. On the basis of UK income statistics, the present value of lifetime gross income was calculated to be £67 500 higher for children achieving 5 high-grade GCSE passes compared with not achieving this. Therefore, the economic benefit of being breast-fed <6 months would be £4208 and that for ≥6 months would be £8799/child. The model shows that the increased educational attainment associated with being breast-fed has a positive economic benefit for society, even from small improvements in breast-feeding rates. Within a total UK birth cohort of 800 000/year an increase by 1 % in breast-feeding rates would be worth >£33·6 million over the working life of the cohort. Therefore, breast-feeding promotion is likely to be highly cost-effective and policymakers should take this into consideration.

Socioeconomic status and breastfeeding in China: an analysis of data from a longitudinal nationwide household survey.

BACKGROUND: Socioeconomic status is an important factor affecting the initiation and cessation of breastfeeding. However, limited evidence exists regarding the association between socioeconomic status and breastfeeding behavior in China on a national level. This study aims to investigate the relationship between socioeconomic status and the initiation and duration of breastfeeding in China. METHODS: Data were collected from the China Family Panel Studies, a longitudinal nationwide household survey. A total of 2938 infants born between 2010 and 2014 were included in the study. The logistic regression model was used to investigate the relationship between socioeconomic status and the initiation of breastfeeding. Meanwhile, the Cox proportional hazards model was used to investigate the relationship between socioeconomic status and the risk of breastfeeding cessation. RESULTS: Overall, 90.5% of infants were breastfed, while the average duration of breastfeeding was 8.66 months in China. The breastfeeding continuance rate at 12 months declined sharply, to 30.1%. The study's findings also indicate that socioeconomic status did not significantly affect breastfeeding initiation. However, infants whose mothers had a high school or higher education and who scored 33-58 on the International Socio-Economic Index of Occupational Status (ISEI) were more likely to experience breastfeeding cessation, as were infants whose fathers had an ISEI score of 59-90. CONCLUSIONS: Efforts to promote breastfeeding practices should be conducted comprehensively to target mothers with a high school or higher education, mothers with a medium occupational status, and fathers with a high occupational status.

Premarket Notifications and Patents for Breast Pumps Before and After the ACA.

This study investigates whether ACA policies to increase access to breast pumps and lactation care were associated with innovation in the market for breast pumps.

Women's views about a free breast pump service: Online survey informing intervention development.

Improving breastfeeding outcomes is a global priority; however, in the United Kingdom, continuation of breastfeeding remains low. Growing empirical evidence suggests a free breast pump service might be an acceptable and feasible incentive intervention to improve breastfeeding outcomes and reduce heath inequalities. To inform intervention development, we conducted an online survey with women recruited via social media using snowball sampling. Data were analysed descriptively (closed questions) with qualitative thematic analysis (free text). The survey was completed by 666 women, most of whom had recently breastfed and used a breast pump. Participants agreed that free pump hire (rental/loan; 567 women; 85.1%) or a free pump to keep (408; 61.3%) should be provided. Free text comments provided by 408 women (free pump) and 309 women (free hire) highlighted potential benefits: helping women to continue breastfeeding; express milk; overcome difficulties; and pump choice. Concerns are possible effect on breast milk supply, reduced breastfeeding, pumps replacing good support for breastfeeding, and pump hire hygiene. Personal and societal costs are important issues. Some suggested a pump service should be for low-income mothers, those with feeding difficulties or sick/preterm infants. A one-size service would not suit all and vouchers were proposed. Some suggested fees and deposits to prevent waste. To our knowledge, this is the first study reporting views about the acceptability of providing a free breast pump hire service. Mothers support and wish to have a say in breast pump service development. Future evaluations should address impact on feeding outcomes, professional support, hygiene for hired pumps, and costs.

A cost-effectiveness analysis of maternal CYP2D6 genetic testing to guide treatment for postpartum pain and avert infant adverse events.

Mothers with a CYP2D6 ultrarapid metabolizer phenotype may expose their infants to risk of adverse events when taking codeine while breastfeeding, by producing more of the active metabolite, morphine. Pharmacogenetic testing may be a valuable tool to identify such mothers, but testing can be costly. The objective of the study was to determine the incremental costs of genotyping to avert neonatal adverse events during maternal pharmacotherapy. A cost-effectiveness analysis, using a decision model, was performed with a hypothetical cohort of prenatal subjects. Parameter estimates, costs and ranges for sensitivity analyses were ascertained from the literature and expert opinion. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to assess the robustness of the results. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis revealed an incremental cost-effectiveness (ICER) of $10 433 (Canadian dollars) for genotyping compared to no genotyping per adverse event averted. Results were sensitive to hospital admission costs. The ICER was lower when evaluating only subjects having caesarean deliveries or those from ethnic populations known to have a high prevalence of ultra-rapid metabolizers. Although genotyping to guide pharmacotherapy was not cost saving, the cost to avert an infant adverse event may represent good value for money in specific populations. With a growing demand for personalized medicine, these findings are relevant for decision makers, clinicians and patients.

Breastfeeding: uncovering barriers and offering solutions.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months after an infant is born. Although the recommendations are well known, mothers face barriers that make breastfeeding difficult. This article reviews the recent literature on barriers to breastfeeding as well as strategies for pediatricians to use to help women overcome them. RECENT FINDINGS: The mode of delivery, mother's socioeconomic status, return to work, and prenatal breastfeeding education have been reported as factors that influence breastfeeding. Family-centered models for breastfeeding, peer support groups, and technology have been studied as potential ways to help women meet their breastfeeding goals. SUMMARY: Pediatricians are the first providers to care for babies after hospital discharge and are likely the first doctors that mothers see after childbirth. These early visits create opportunities for pediatricians to learn about the barriers that their patients face and open the doors to addressing these barriers.

Valuing breastfeeding: a qualitative study of women's experiences of a financial incentive scheme for breastfeeding.

BACKGROUND: A cluster randomised controlled trial of a financial incentive for breastfeeding conducted in areas with low breastfeeding rates in the UK reported a statistically significant increase in breastfeeding at 6-8 weeks. In this paper we report an analysis of interviews with women eligible for the scheme, exploring their experiences and perceptions of the scheme and its impact on breastfeeding to support the interpretation of the results of the trial. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 35 women eligible for the scheme during the feasibility and trial stages. All interviews were recorded and verbatim transcripts analysed using a Framework Analysis approach. RESULTS: Women reported that their decisions about infant feeding were influenced by the behaviours and beliefs of their family and friends, socio-cultural norms and by health and practical considerations. They were generally positive about the scheme, and felt valued for the effort involved in breastfeeding. The vouchers were frequently described as a reward, a bonus and something to look forward to, and helping women keep going with their breastfeeding. They were often perceived as compensation for the difficulties women encountered during breastfeeding. The scheme was not thought to make a difference to mothers who were strongly against breastfeeding. However, women did believe the scheme would help normalise breastfeeding, influence those who were undecided and help women to keep going with breastfeeding and reach key milestones e.g. 6 weeks or 3 months. CONCLUSIONS: The scheme was acceptable to women, who perceived it as rewarding and valuing them for breastfeeding. Women reported that the scheme could raise awareness of breastfeeding and encourage its normalisation. This provides a possible mechanism of action to explain the results of the trial. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry, number 44898617 , https://www.isrctn.com.

Economic determinants of breastfeeding in Haiti: The effects of poverty, food insecurity, and employment on exclusive breastfeeding in an urban population.

There is limited and inconsistent empirical evidence regarding the role of economic factors in breastfeeding practices, globally. Studies have found both negative and positive associations between low income and exclusive breastfeeding (EBF). Employment, which should improve household income, may reduce EBF due to separation of mother and infant. In the context of a randomized controlled study of lipid-based complementary feeding in an urban slum in Cap Haitien, Haiti, we examined the economic factors influencing breastfeeding practices using mixed methods. Findings demonstrate relationships between urban context, economic factors, and breastfeeding practices. Poverty, food insecurity, time constraints, and limited social support create challenges for EBF. Maternal employment is associated with lower rates of EBF and less frequent breastfeeding. Extreme food insecurity sometimes leads to increased exclusive breastfeeding among Haitian mothers, what we call "last resort EBF." In this case, women practice EBF because they have no alternative food source for the infant. Suggested policies and programs to address economic constraints and promote EBF in this population include maternal and child allowances, quality child care options, and small-scale household urban food production.

Availability of breastfeeding peer support in the United Kingdom: A cross-sectional study.

Peer support is recommended by the World Health Organization for the initiation and continuation of breastfeeding, and this recommendation is included in United Kingdom (U.K.) guidance. There is a lack of information about how, when, and where breastfeeding peer support was provided in the U.K. We aimed to generate an overview of how peer support is delivered in the U.K. and to gain an understanding of challenges for implementation. We surveyed all U.K. infant feeding coordinators (n = 696) who were part of U.K.-based National Infant Feeding Networks, covering 177 National Health Service (NHS) organisations. We received 136 responses (individual response rate 19.5%), covering 102 U.K. NHS organisations (organisational response rate 58%). We also searched NHS organisation websites to obtain data on the presence of breastfeeding peer support. Breastfeeding peer support was available in 56% of areas. However, coverage within areas was variable. The provision of training and ongoing supervision, and peer-supporter roles, varied significantly between services. Around one third of respondents felt that breastfeeding peer-support services were not well integrated with NHS health services. Financial issues were commonly reported to have a negative impact on service provision. One quarter of respondents stated that breastfeeding peer support was not accessed by mothers from poorer social backgrounds. Overall, there was marked variation in the provision of peer-support services for breastfeeding in the U.K. A more robust evidence base is urgently needed to inform guidance on the structure and provision of breastfeeding peer-support services.

Why invest, and what it will take to improve breastfeeding practices?

Despite its established benefits, breastfeeding is no longer a norm in many communities. Multifactorial determinants of breastfeeding need supportive measures at many levels, from legal and policy directives to social attitudes and values, women's work and employment conditions, and health-care services to enable women to breastfeed. When relevant interventions are delivered adequately, breastfeeding practices are responsive and can improve rapidly. The best outcomes are achieved when interventions are implemented concurrently through several channels. The marketing of breastmilk substitutes negatively affects breastfeeding: global sales in 2014 of US$44·8 billion show the industry's large, competitive claim on infant feeding. Not breastfeeding is associated with lower intelligence and economic losses of about $302 billion annually or 0·49% of world gross national income. Breastfeeding provides short-term and long-term health and economic and environmental advantages to children, women, and society. To realise these gains, political support and financial investment are needed to protect, promote, and support breastfeeding.

Disparities in Breastfeeding: Impact on Maternal and Child Health Outcomes and Costs.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the disease burden and associated costs attributable to suboptimal breastfeeding rates among non-Hispanic blacks (NHBs), Hispanics, and non-Hispanic whites (NHWs). STUDY DESIGN: Using current literature on associations between breastfeeding and health outcomes for 8 pediatric and 5 maternal diseases, we used Monte Carlo simulations to evaluate 2 hypothetical cohorts of US women followed from age 15 to 70 years and their infants followed from birth to age 20 years. Accounting for differences in parity, maternal age, and birth weights by race/ethnicity, we examined disease outcomes and costs using 2012 breastfeeding rates by race/ethnicity and outcomes that would be expected if 90% of infants were breastfed according to recommendations for exclusive and continued breastfeeding duration. RESULTS: Suboptimal breastfeeding is associated with a greater burden of disease among NHB and Hispanic populations. Compared with a NHW population, a NHB population had 1.7 times the number of excess cases of acute otitis media attributable to suboptimal breastfeeding (95% CI 1.7-1.7), 3.3 times the number of excess cases of necrotizing enterocolitis (95% CI 2.9-3.7), and 2.2 times the number of excess child deaths (95% CI 1.6-2.8). Compared with a NHW population, a Hispanic population had 1.4 times the number of excess cases of gastrointestinal infection (95% CI 1.4-1.4) and 1.5 times the number of excess child deaths (95% CI 1.2-1.9). CONCLUSIONS: Racial/ethnic disparities in breastfeeding have important social, economic, and health implications, assuming a causal relationship between breastfeeding and health outcomes.

Suboptimal breastfeeding in the United States: Maternal and pediatric health outcomes and costs.

The aim of this study was to quantify the excess cases of pediatric and maternal disease, death, and costs attributable to suboptimal breastfeeding rates in the United States. Using the current literature on the associations between breastfeeding and health outcomes for nine pediatric and five maternal diseases, we created Monte Carlo simulations modeling a hypothetical cohort of U.S. women followed from age 15 to age 70 years and their children from birth to age 20 years. We examined disease outcomes using (a) 2012 breastfeeding rates and (b) assuming that 90% of infants were breastfed according to medical recommendations. We measured annual excess cases, deaths, and associated costs, in 2014 dollars, using a 2% discount rate. Annual excess deaths attributable to suboptimal breastfeeding total 3,340 (95% confidence interval [1,886 to 4,785]), 78% of which are maternal due to myocardial infarction (n = 986), breast cancer (n = 838), and diabetes (n = 473). Excess pediatric deaths total 721, mostly due to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (n = 492) and necrotizing enterocolitis (n = 190). Medical costs total $3.0 billion, 79% of which are maternal. Costs of premature death total $14.2 billion. The number of women needed to breastfeed as medically recommended to prevent an infant gastrointestinal infection is 0.8; acute otitis media, 3; hospitalization for lower respiratory tract infection, 95; maternal hypertension, 55; diabetes, 162; and myocardial infarction, 235. For every 597 women who optimally breastfeed, one maternal or child death is prevented. Policies to increase optimal breastfeeding could result in substantial public health gains. Breastfeeding has a larger impact on women's health than previously appreciated.