I feel fortunate that I have been able to successfully breastfeed both of my children. My 3.5 year old daughter was nursed for 18 months and my son, who is 13 months old, is still nursing and I don't see him weaning any time soon. Breastfeeding has been great for their health, and mine too. It has also been a fantastic money saver.
The cost comparison of breast milk and formula is quite shocking to me. Since I have never bought an ounce of formula, I did not realize how much money I was saving by breastfeeding. The average cost to feed a baby formula for 1 year is approximately $1450-$2150. I can't even imagine spending that much money on something that I can supply for essentially free. The cost of breastfeeding for me was about $200, for breast pads and a few nursing bras.
Not only are the savings in the actual cost of formula, you must take into consideration the health care savings as well. Studies have shown that formula fed babies have 50% more ear infections than babies that have been exclusively breastfed for the first 4 months. Breastfed babies are generally healthier and have less visits to the doctor.
In our house, this seems to be the case. Neither of my children have ever had an ear infection. My daughter has had 1 minor cold, and 1 minor stomach bug. My son has had 1 minor cold. The only time we've been to the pediatrician for anything besides a well baby visit was once for a crazy rash.
Some people may argue that they don't get sick because they are not in day care. Perhaps, but my kids are not sheltered in our home. We are a very active family and we are out and about on a daily basis. They are exposed to germs and other children all the time. I believe that my kids don't get sick because they are healthy and have strong immune systems from being breastfed!
The health and economic benefits of breastfeeding were obvious to me, but I never really considered the environmental impact. Is Breastmilk Green? Of course it is! There's no packaging, and no production or delivery costs. My babies get their milk straight from the source.
The production, packaging and shipping of formula, on the other hand, requires large amounts of water, fuel, paper, glass, plastic and rubber and produces large amounts of waste. In the US alone, over half a million women formula feed their babies from birth. If just these mothers breastfed for a full year (with solids introduced after six months), these valuable resources would be saved:
- 25 million pounds of steel from formula cans
- 2.5 million pounds of paper
- 2.5 million pounds of HDPE from plastic milk containers
- 27 million gallons of milk, requiring 465 million pounds of dairy feed to produce
- 6 million gallons of oil for production, transportation and refrigeration
- 135 million pounds of carbon dioxide produced by the use of those 6 million gallons of oil, requiring 35,000 acres of forest to absorb
Breastfeeding is a no-brainer for me. I believe breastfeeding is best for my children, my wallet, and the environment. Not only is breast milk the perfect food for my babies, it is essentially free, very green, and it is the ultimate in Eco-Cheap!
16 comments:
Came over from SITS. I have a friend who is pregnant who will be very interested in the earth/money savings between breastfeeding vs. formula!
So true....when its possible. Several friends just could not for different reasons. I always wanted to.
Stopped by from SITS, lovely to meet you. Very interesting post. I was lucky enough to be able to breastfeed but I think mums have to make their own minds up on this one; it comes down to what works for the individual without feeling pressure and falling into a depression about it which can happen so easily for a new mum.
If that means bottle feeding, then bottle feeding is best, if it means breastfeeding, then great.
Visiting from SITS. Have a great day.
www.tuesdaysattonyas.blogspot.com
The intent of this post was not to make formula feeding mothers feel bad or guilty or whatever. I agree that sometimes formula is the better option. I agree that it's not for everyone no matter what the reason. Their baby, their choice (and sometimes not their choice).
I was just stating my opinion and relaying statistics about the benefits of breast feeding. All of my claims were researched and can be backed by numerous studies.
That being said, I too agree that there are lots of formula babies that are very healthy, and breast milk babies that are sickly. A friend of mine's baby that was nursed for 6 months has been sick a lot and has tons of allergies. It happens. Every baby has their own unique immune systems so even though they are exposed to the same things doesn't necessarily mean their bodies react in the same way.
But what do I know. I am no expert, that's for sure! I'm just another blogger mom putting my $.02 out there.
It was I who commented this morning and realized I flew off the handle at Chanda. I am really sorry, Chanda. I just deleted that post and wanted to apologize to you and your readers. I've had a crummy day and that is no excuse, but sometimes I've just felt like people judged me for succumbing to formula. A lot of it is probably rooted in jealousy--I wish the breastfeeding had worked out for me. I think if I'd had a singleton, it probably would have. But I had twins, and it was overwhelming.
Again, I'm really sorry for jumping down your throat. It's a thoughtful post and I know you weren't attacking anyone.
I suck, guys! Sorry again!
:-(
Found you through another blog you were visiting via SITS. You have a beautiful family!
My sister works in a very female workplace (her husband is a stay at home dad; she's Miss Corporate!) and she had the HARDEST time pumping. First they told her to do it in the bathroom. She explained how nasty that was, so they cleared out some broom closet for her. Real nice. She did it, but the more I asked around, the more I hear that most workplaces are not friendly toward such things. There was a woman who was even fired recently for needing to take breaks to pump. They fired her for "unauthorized breaks" so it would sound as if it weren't a violation of her rights as a mom. Her argument was that she took no more breaks than smokers but because she was a temp she wasn't allowed any breaks at all.
Hey! Thanks for stopping by my blog. You have a very interesting one. I'm bookmarking it :o) I agree with you about the BF-ing. I did not successfully BF my two girls. I was on seizure meds and was told I couldn't BF b/c of them. I tried for a few days before I found out wasn't supposed to and it was very overwhelming and difficult. Now there is new info out that say benefits of Bf-ing outweigh any negative side effects that the baby might get from the seizure meds. We are trying for baby #3 and would like to look more into bf-ing the next one while on seizure meds.(Unfortunately I will most likely be taking those for the rest of my life!) It's hard when doctor's are so wary these and afraid of being sued. I feel like many times they take the "easy" way and don't look at natural alternatives. I don't know that even when I talk to them about what I've researched if they will still push me to formula feed b/c of the meds. We'll see!
Insightful post! And nice to meet you :o)
p.s oh and your kids are so CUTE.
ppss :o) Kudos to Erin for apologizing for her previous comments. I didn't see what she wrote but thought it was commendable that she deleted it and apologized. Many people would not have done that.
thanks for stopping by today...
my oldest step daughter is a firm advocate of breast feeding... she'd totally love you for this post! :)
That is a dramatic savings. Formula is so expensive and I hated having to buy it because of the cost, but breast feeding didn't work out for me or my two kids. That's great it's working out so well for you.
Thanks for stopping by my blog :)
Erin, you most definitely DO NOT suck! You are a person with true character and I'm glad to know you in this crazy blogger world. :)
What a great post! Those are some crazy numbers, I think it's really great that you broke it down like that. Love it!
What a great post. I always remind my husband of the savings and hint that at the end of all this (when I am done nursing my 3rd baby due in January) I will be looking for a little present. Maybe some new bras if I have any boobs left :)
I had a VERY hard time breastfeeding but I stuck with for both my kids and I am so glad. And it is really eco friendly. I want to say that I never judge people for not breastfeeding but for me, I just kept going back to the lactation consultant until we got the hang of it. 5 cases of mastitis, the thrush and many tears later, we figured the whole thing out! (I have severe hyperlactation which makes it difficult for my babies to latch on at all and also makes near impossible to drain my breasts either with baby or pump).
Anyhoo I am now a follower. Love the blog! I am also starting a blog next month since I have met so many bfing mommies called the Boobie Diaries. Stories, tips, tricks, advice from on mom to another. I would have loved a little community when I was starting!
Sorry for the novel!
I'm a SITS girl!
Over from SITS.
Love this post. I have three children, nursed all of them, but also did formula with the first two after four months (no decent breast pump + returning to work = difficulty in nursing).
When my third baby was born, I was determined to nurse him for the entire first year. We made it to 11 1/2 months before he self-weaned, and that kid is the healthiest one of the bunch!
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