how can folks afford to NOT breastfeed ?!?

[guestmama9904]

Enfamil has been "generous" enough to send not-pregnant-me 2 cans of "free" lipil formula so i checked the price at a local walgreens on the can I recieved and oh my goodness I could never afford to formula feed even if I wanted to! 15$ for a small can? how long does that even last for a newborn, a few days? yesh. To me the number one reason to nurse aside from the myriad health reasons to breastfeed and the fact that to me it is obvious that as mammals we should breastfeed, is the cost of breastmilk substitutes! I seriously do not understand why you would want to spend the money on this stuff if you didn't absolutely have to. I mean say it takes at least 2 cans of 15$ minimum per week for 1 year to sustain your babies life, thats almost 1500$, not to mention all the other costs of not breastfeeding ie. bottles, extra medicine and doctors visits, pacifiers ect,. I just would so much rather go on vacation or buy some post pregnancy clothes or pay off my credit cards or pay an extra mortgage payment... the list goes on and on. I just find it sickening that the formula companies make a substandard product to replace something that in most cases is 100% free and then they expect these families to just happily fork over thousands of dollars. so sad to me, and so another great reason to feed babies how they are meant to be fed.

[notwonamesalike]

Holy cow, you're not kidding. We've supplemented on the rare occasion that we've left DS (9months) with a sitter. I was able to use a small can that we received in the mail for those times. Then, this fall I had a series of medical tests, including repeat MRI's that didn't allow me to breastfeed. I didn't have enough frozen bm in the freezer, as these tests were unexpected, so we had to go and buy a large can for DH to bottle feed the baby. It was close to $30 bucks - and lasted about a week.


I'm SO glad I was able to go back to breastfeeding after the tests were done and the contrast was out of my body. Luckily DS took back to nursing like a champ.

[cschick]

There are a lot of women in my neighborhood with kids in the infant through toddler stage. I'm really the only one who has breastfed (some did through 4/6 months) and definitely the only one who has cloth diapered.

One of the other women was looking for someone to commiserate with her and told me about how her husband is having fits over their $400/weekly grocery bill. With formula and diapers and baby food and all . . . "you know how it is!"

No, I don't. My basic weekly grocery budget is $75. I bought food for a Superbowl party yesterday morning + my weekly groceries, and I spent $109.

I just smiled and nodded, because I have no idea how 2 parents, an infant, and a toddler can spend $400/week on groceries. That's $1600 a month!

[TrippyLongstocking]

NO DOUBT!
With my son I formula fed from 6 months onwards because of an abusive relationship and an eating disorder I manifested out of the abuse
I ended up giving him soy formula because I was against dairy and it was the most expensive kind out on the market!!!
In the short 6 months I formula fed him I spent over 1000!
:
needless to say in my new happy relationship I am still nursing my 23 month old

[didkisa]

Originally Posted by cschick

I just smiled and nodded, because I have no idea how 2 parents, an infant, and a toddler can spend $400/week on groceries. That's $1600 a month!

Seriously??? $400 a week??? What are they buying? We don't spend that a month (for 2 adults, baby, and two cats)!

[cschick]

Originally Posted by didkisa

Seriously??? $400 a week??? What are they buying? We don't spend that a month (for 2 adults, baby, and two cats)!

I have no idea.

They are shopping at the same grocery I shop, and even with say, buying the organic meats and veggies (the grocery offers a wide variety of both) instead of the standard, you're not going to add $300-odd dollars to my standard grocery bill.

[nummies]

I asked my SIL this before my nephew was born to try to "talk her into" trying to BF. Her quote was "That is was WIC is for."

[honeybunch2k8]

Originally Posted by cschick

I just smiled and nodded, because I have no idea how 2 parents, an infant, and a toddler can spend $400/week on groceries. That's $1600 a month!

Wow that is a lot!

[MarcyC]

Wow!!! $400 a week is a lot! What kind of formula and diapers are they buying?

In our case, breastfeeding has been MORE expensive than formula feeding. But that is because of our "issues". I've had to buy domperidone, herbs, teas, more herbs, more teas, more domperidone, an SNS, a lact-aid, plus extra tubing(s), a breastpump (actually 3), breastmilk storage bags, nipple shields, and *sadly* formula. I've also paid for visits to 2 ENT's, an LC (I paid for one LC, a very generous MDC Lactivist paid for 2 visits to another LC), and 2 other peds other than our own, oh, and a pediatric dentist. Now, if I want to get this tongue-tie fixed, I'm looking at some major travel expenses. The only doctors I can find to fix this thing are in either NY or South Carolina. I can't tell you how much all this has cost!!!

And then I find Baby's Only Organic Formula for just over $8 a can on line, plus free shipping.

Granted, our case is not the norm, but sometimes formula feeding is actually less expensive.

[Ruthla]

Some women have jobs that aren't conducive to pumping- waitressing comes to mind. Between irregular working hours and no times for breaks and women who don't know enough to stand up for their rights to pump, the cost of breast pump and supplies, etc- there really are women who can't afford to breastfeed.

[elisent]

For me breastfeeding is actually more expensive - nursing pads, lanolin, soothies, acidophilus for thrush, nursing bras, nursing shirts, and a pump with bottles because my preemie was too tired to nurse.

If I was formula feeding WIC would have paid for all the formula. I would have just bought a few more bottles. For formula samples I've received 3 cans of powdered, a case of ready to eat from the hospital, and 40+ single serving powdered samples of formula. The doctor's office gave me 5 more free cans of powdered in case I needed to supplement because of his low birth weight. So if WIC didn't provide enough formula I'd probably have enough to last until he could take solids.

[Claire and Boys]

I completely confused the cashier in our supermarket the other week

I was just paying for my shopping, and chatting with my mum saying I hoped I'd remembered everything this week. The cashier overheard and thought he would be helpful, saying "SO, you remembered to buy - Baby milk? Nappies? Baby food?"
I said "No, don't buy that" to all of them lol.... He looked SO confused by the end.

[APmomto3boys]

Wic pays for most of it.

[ruhbehka]

Before we became eligible for WIC, we paid $600/month for DS' formula.

(He comfort nurses and also gets about 95% of his milk intake from bottles, with elemental formula. He has food allergies and can't tolerate any milk or soy based formula.)

His formula just went up to $50 per small can. Before we were eligible for WIC, we often struggled to pay our rent or for groceries, because formula was so expensive.

Unfortunately, we also spent a fortune on breastfeeding expenses, trying to get my body to produce enough milk for DS.

I think both formula feeding and breastfeeding can be incredibly expensive, if you are unlucky!

[mamadelbosque]

Honestly, I think that the price of formula makes it more popular in some ways - afterall if only rich people can afford it, it must be the best, right? Everyone 'knows' that breast is best, but they also know formula is expensive, and in our culture since expensive=good, formula must be too! So, its almost a status symbol - I'm FF, so I must have $$. Even if thats not true thanks to WIC, I seriously suspect theirs a correlation...

[honeybunch2k8]

Originally Posted by Ruthla

Some women have jobs that aren't conducive to pumping- waitressing comes to mind. Between irregular working hours and no times for breaks and women who don't know enough to stand up for their rights to pump, the cost of breast pump and supplies, etc- there really are women who can't afford to breastfeed.

Very good point!

Oh, and if a woman wants to bring her infant to work most of the time she can forget about it. That is one thing I envy about a lot of women in Asia, Africa, etc. They bring their babies to work with them, and no one gives a darn if she raises up her shirt to nurse.

Also, in USA many women don't get the standard 6-12 mos off after having a baby that many, say English or Norwegian, women get.

I think a lot of women are misinformed as well or they may not be aware of their rights.

Could you imagine what it would be like if WIC gave out nursing things like pads, pumps, maybe even clothing instead of formula?

[honeybunch2k8]

Originally Posted by mamadelbosque

Honestly, I think that the price of formula makes it more popular in some ways - afterall if only rich people can afford it, it must be the best, right? Everyone 'knows' that breast is best, but they also know formula is expensive, and in our culture since expensive=good, formula must be too! So, its almost a status symbol - I'm FF, so I must have $$. Even if thats not true thanks to WIC, I seriously suspect theirs a correlation...

I don't think that's the only reason,but this another good point. My older gentlemen friend said formula was VERY in vogue when he was little. I guess it just stayed like that.

[Da WIC Lady]

Originally Posted by honeybunch2k8

Could you imagine what it would be like if WIC gave out nursing things like pads, pumps, maybe even clothing instead of formula?

We do give our moms these things. At least at my office and I'm not in charge of ordering. (Or we'd have more variety of stuff) We have both disposable and washable nursing pads, Bravado bras Medala harmony manual pumps, and we even have a few sleeveless nursing tees. We also got a random shipment from the state office of baby tees from Noodle Soup that say Breastfeeding Does A World of Good. I offer these to all the breastfeeding moms, but because we have 5 clinics and only one storage closet a lot of moms aren't willing to wait until check pickup or come in another day to get the stuff. I guess some districts don't bother because it's just one more thing to keep up with when someone is going to use it as an excuse for something else to complain about. I really get irritated when I offer someone something, go out of my way to meet them with about $60 worth of goodies (I looked up what the retail on this stuff is) and then they don't show, then they have the big ones to complain that they don't get anything as a breastfeeding mother. This is one of the things I really don't like about my job.:

Anna

[hipmummy]

Breastfeeding has not been free as my appetite is huge. I can barely keep 110. I am 5"2" so it is fine. But I am always famished. Otherwise It has been free I have been blessed with three free pumps. Of which I never use. Ds has never had a bottle. I think I bought four bottles to pump nto and maybe spents 30$ total on washable nursing pads. Which I will use with more than child. When i see what my sil spends a week on formula, bottles and allof the solids her dc eats I want to gag.

[honeybunch2k8]

Originally Posted by Da WIC Lady

We do give our moms these things. At least at my office and I'm not in charge of ordering. (Or we'd have more variety of stuff) We have both disposable and washable nursing pads, Bravado bras Medala harmony manual pumps, and we even have a few sleeveless nursing tees. We also got a random shipment from the state office of baby tees from Noodle Soup that say Breastfeeding Does A World of Good. I offer these to all the breastfeeding moms, but because we have 5 clinics and only one storage closet a lot of moms aren't willing to wait until check pickup or come in another day to get the stuff. I guess some districts don't bother because it's just one more thing to keep up with when someone is going to use it as an excuse for something else to complain about. I really get irritated when I offer someone something, go out of my way to meet them with about $60 worth of goodies (I looked up what the retail on this stuff is) and then they don't show, then they have the big ones to complain that they don't get anything as a breastfeeding mother. This is one of the things I really don't like about my job.:

Anna

Ooops my bad! I didn't know cuz my mom was on WIC and never received those things. I believe she had to buy her own bf stuff, but then again this was awhile ago.