Cost of Discharge Pack

THE COST OF THE "FREE" DISCHARGE PACK

Suboptimal breastfeeding results in a major financial drain on our health care system. A report published in the May, 2010 issue of Pediatrics shows that "If 90% of US families could comply with medical recommendations to breastfeed exclusively for 6 months, the United States would save $13 billion per year and prevent an excess 911 deaths."

For an average middle class family in Albuquerque the direct cost of feeding a baby formula for one year is between $625 and $1600, depending on the choice between brand name and generic and the retail source. There are significant differences in pricing among supermarkets, Wal-Mart and Walgreens
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But what is the cost for poor families?

We frequently have heard nurses say, "Our mothers are poor and they need this discharge pack." Really? A number of studies have shown that discharge packs adversely affect breastfeeding. The most recent was in the American Journal of Public Health in February 2008,(2):290-5 by Rosenberg et al. These authors "found that women who received these packs were more likely to exclusively breastfeed for fewer than 10 weeks than were women who had not received the packs (multivariate adjusted odds ratio=1.39; 95% confidence interval=1.05, 1.84)"

The accompanying chart shows representative formula costs in Albuquerque stores as of May 2010 and also the average infant's formula intake by age. WIC provides an average of 26 oz. /day or 780 oz./mo. of formula to mothers who have chosen not to breastfeed or have failed breastfeeding. When one considers the average formula intake at age 3 mo. there is a shortfall of 35 oz. By 6 months the shortfall is 540 +35 oz. or 575 oz. During the next 3 months the shortfall is 35 oz. During the last 3 months there is a gain. Note that these are average, but rather conservative estimates.

WIC also provides supplementary food packages:
For the exclusively breastfeeding mother the mother/baby package is worth $100/mo.
For the partial breastfeeding mother, the mother/baby package is worth $70/mo.
For the mostly formula fed baby the mother/baby package is worth $59/mo.

So for example: If a mother fails at 3 months (10 weeks is more likely per the above study, but more typically failures occur in the first month ), she will experience a short fall of 485 oz. of formula or $27.65 if she chooses to buy Wal-Mart's brand or $72.75 if she chooses the most expensive, i.e. the formula that she received in the discharge pack. Experience shows that most mothers avoid generic formula. She will also loose $369 in WIC food package benefits. So for the WIC mother who fails breastfeeding the minimum cost is between $393 ad $441.75 for the next 9 months. We don't help poor women financially if we precipitate breastfeeding failures by handing out "free" gift packs.