The economics of breastfeeding in Singapore

A study of 340 mothers was conducted in Kandang Kerbau Hospital on September 1992 to determine if it were more economical for households to breastfeed or bottle-feed an infant for the first three months. Two economic models, a low cost model and a high cost model, were adopted incorporating a mathematical expression from Almroth's work in 1979. The savings in a mother's gross income for the period ranged from 3% to 9% for the low cost model and from 8% to 21% for the high cost model. From the household perspective, two components contributed to the economic savings of breastfeeding over artificial feeding: the cost of goods consumed and the time taken to feed the baby. It was noted that the time taken to artificially feed is longer than the time taken to breastfeed an infant. The results of this study provided more concrete basis for policy makers and advocates of breastfeeding to promote breastfeeding in Singapore. The amount of savings from breastfeeding could be considered for the health care system from the public perspective.