Economic and Health Benefits of Breastfeeding: A Review

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to review the health, economic and other benefits of breastfeeding to the children, mother, community and country. The review was undertaken by using different tools as sources of information for gathering ideas on issues of economic, health and social benefits of breastfeeding. Report indicated that Sub-optimum breastfeeding, especially non-exclusive breastfeeding in the first 6 months of life, results in 1.4 million deaths and 10% of disease burden in children younger than 5 years. Breastfeeding for a period of two years is more cost-effective than the alternative of having to purchase artificial or animal milk, which contributes to about 15%-20% of the health budget in some countries. Breastfeeding lead to a 13% reduction in deaths of children under five if infants were exclusively breastfed for 6 months and continued to be breastfed up to two years. Optimal breastfeeding of children under two years of age has the potential to prevent 1.4 million deaths in children under five in the developing world annually. As economic impact of breastfeeding for three illnesses otitis media, gastroenteritis, and NEC found that increasing the proportion of children who were breastfed and would have saved an estimated $3.6 billion annually interms of both direct and indirect costs.

Keywords: breastfeeding, breast milk, economic, social, benefits