The promotion of breastfeeding probably is a rare showcase of public health advocacy with the least opposing voices so far. Given the empirical evidence on the benefits of the practice, breastfeeding is regarded as a ‘smart investment’ for disease prevention and better child development. However, there is little to know about the effectiveness of such promotional interventions. A retrospective study done in Scotland, the United Kingdom tried to translate those potential benefits into quantifiable measures, in terms of healthcare service costs. Over 500,000 infants born between 1997 and 2009 were included, exclusively those with valid infant feeding records at the 6-8 week review. For the outcome, it comprised 10 infant feeding-associated childhood illnesses (gastrointestinal, respiratory [lower and upper] and urinary tract infections, otitis media, asthma, eczema, diabetes, dental caries and fever). The healthcare service costs were calculated separately for hospital admissions and general practice consultations and adjusted for inflation with a cut-off of 27 months for follow-up. Breastfeeding in the early years could yield a potential saving of combined healthcare costs worth ~173 million pounds after adjusting for inflation up to 2023. The work is the first population-level birth cohort study to provide a clear breakdown of the benefits of breastfeeding using commonly understandable measure. Findings from this study have justified a larger input into better supportive policies to help families make informed decisions of taking up breastfeeding as the exclusive feeding method.

Reference

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