Economic Burden of Suboptimal Breastfeeding for Women's Health in the United States

Background: Few US mothers manage to meet recommendations to breastfeed for at least one year after each birth. Earlier research has found that suboptimal breastfeeding leads to $13 billion (2007 dollars) in excess costs treating US pediatric disease. Breastfeeding is also associated with lower risk of several maternal diseases. However, the extent to which these associations result in premature maternal mortality or societal costs is not known. Methods: We used a Monte Carlo simulation to model the projected maternal costs over a range of rates of breastfeeding. Specifically, we considered the maternal costs of breast cancer, pre-menopausal ovarian cancer, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. We modeled the excess cases of each disease, excess mortality rates, and resultant economic costs using best available estimates. Our model considered a cohort of women who gave birth in 2007 to either their first, second, or third child and could develop multiple disease states. This cohort was followed to either 74 years of age or premature death. Costs are measured in 2010 dollars and include direct health costs, indirect costs, and the cost of premature death. Results: Preliminary model results are expected by the fall of 2012. Conclusions: If these associations are causal, the maternal costs of suboptimal breastfeeding have a significant impact on the US economy.