Formula Milk or Breast Milk?

Oversimplification of Case’s Price Survey Study
Dollars and Sense of Breastfeeding

I find that the recent price survey (5 August 2008) done by the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) oversimplified. The price study revealed mothers who exclusively breastfeed their baby during the first six months can save an average of $710.

CASE calculated the average prices of buying infant milk powder would be ‘around $735, while breastfeeding equipment costs as little as $25.50’.

However, I beg to differ. I feel that the price survey is not truly reflective of the total costs of breastfeeding. Nor does it consider other inherent components of breastfeeding costs, comprehensively.

It is a misnomer that infant formula milk powder costs money but breastfeeding is free. Contrary to the notion that breastfeeding saves money; I feel that the savings are minimal or even non-existent.

During pregnancy many women eat much more than usual. After childbirth, what the mothers eat is even more important for the baby’s health. The quality of breast milk depends on the mother’s diet. Her diet also affects how quickly her body rebounds from childbirth. And all this costs money.

Good nutrition is even more vital after giving birth than during pregnancy. We cannot expect breastfeeding mums to eat the usual local hawker fare or fast food, day-in, day-out for a period of six months. Lactating women need to eat generous amounts of protein-rich foods such as meats, fish, and legumes in addition to the less costly intake fruits and vegetables, and calcium-rich dairy products.

Let say, perhaps breastfeeding mothers need a weekly dosage of milk, yogurt, and cheese. A six-month-supply of these diary products in Singapore can easily sets one back by a few hundred dollars at least!
In general, experts recommended daily 4 servings meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs, and nuts for breastfeeding mums. Health experts recommend deep-sea fish like cod, salmon, mackerels for the mothers as well. They are rich in Omega 3 and 6 and essentially good for brain and eye development. However, these fishes are not exactly ‘cheap’ in Singapore.

In Singapore, they can easily cost more $20 to $30 that will last no more for a week, for a breastfeeding mother alone. No meat, just fish alone. Picture this, $20 weekly for 6 months will adds up to more than $500!

Another high cost issue lies with breastfeeding equipment used by mothers to express the breast milk. Breastfeeding also entails feeding bottles, artificial nipples, and other feeding paraphernalia.

Some mothers find it too time consuming to exclusively breastfeed her baby. Hence certain best brands pumps are needed for busy working if you want a ‘stress-free’ experience.

A good pump will make breastfeeding more enjoyable. Imagine spending a long time expressing milk and only a miserable amount is expressed because of the pump’s limitation. Take it as an investment, experienced mothers will tell you. Experts advocate buying electric pumps, as manual pumps might not be as efficient.

However, an electric dual pump is easily in the range of $200-$500! Look around, even a single electric breast pump with a box of brand new sealed containers will set you back by $200-$500! Even second-hand equipment bought from the Internet can be quite costly as well.

Even if mothers uses her bare hands to express milk, they will still need reliable breast pump milk storage bags which can be very expensive. The bags can costs around $28 for 20 pieces. After pumping, if they transfer the milk into a milk storage bag, which easily costs about $17 for 25 pieces and lasts perhaps only a month or so. Imagine the astronomical sum after 6 months of breastfeeding!

Lastly, Singapore's tropical climate is not exactly conducive for storage of expressed breast milk. Working mothers who need to express and store breast milk need to take into account long-term prohibitive storage costs as well. Milk at room temperature (17-32 degrees Celsius) needs to be refrigerated as soon as possible.

Once in a while, perhaps breastfeeding mothers might want to down a bottle of bird nest regularly to enhance their diet. How’s that to add in to the costs of breastfeeding?

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