How much money do you save by breastfeeding?

Question

I've both breastfed and bottle fed my kids, but I've never actually tallied up how much you save by breastfeeding and I'm curious. Does anyone have a rough estimate?

Answer 1

I breastfed my daughter, and never really thought about it in terms of what I was saving. Formula feeding can be expensive in many ways, aside from the monetary cost of the formula and equipment. I didn't spend much of anything on breastfeeding. I bought a tube of Lansinoh and a nursing pillow, and got the support I needed at La Leche League meetings. I didn't bother with pumping, nursing tops, etc.

Answer 2

For me, it boils down to just formula.



While breastfeeding I also pumped which required bottles, nipples, ect., ect. Now that I'm formula feeding I use the same bottles et al.



I did buy myself a $30 nursing shawl, and two $10 nursing bras. I loved the shawl and would buy it again if I had to, but could've done without the bras. And the pump I used my insurance paid for.



So... it's about $30 per container of formula, and the container lasts about a week or a week and a half. As opposed to breastfeeding which, after the initial money spent, I spent NOTHING.



Conservatively speaking, I'd say breastfeeding saved me, personally, about $100 per month.



I will say that I LOVE not having to pump any more. Is it worth $100 per month? Maybe not... but it is great!

Answer 3

A lot actually. You really don't need to get anything fancy to brest feed. A few nursing tops, two, maybe three nursing bras, some of those little "pads" in-case you start to leak, and a boppy! Which, if you play your cards right, you can either get at the hospital (they usually give you lots of leak pads, lanolin, a few books, and blankets) Or ask for them at your baby shower.



A GOOD brest pump will cost a few hundred dollars, but they pay themselves off !!



A can of formula = approx 15 dollars at walmart.

1 can can last about 1 week.

So, you can do the math from there.



I saved a TON of money brest feeding!!! I didn't need all those fancy "nursing tops" I only had the tank top (which went under my shirts) and two nursing bras! And I did fine! But, if you are really trying to save money, boob is the way to go!!!



EDIT: A lactation consultant? You can find resources for all the breast feeding questions online, and most hospitals offer it for free!!! FOr millions of years women have been nursing, trust me, it saves you money! (and helps with weight loss!!!)

Answer 4

hmm, it would be a pretty good amount.... i had to formula feed, theres the initial cost of bottles, nipples, the formula he drank was 22 dollars a can and he usually went through a little over 1 per day(i think it was).it was almost 300 a month for formula alone (3600 dollars for the year he was on it).id say 100 dollars easily for bottles etc...we had to try a few different ones before we found the right brand....then you have to get up, mix the formula,make and warm the bottles,feed him..hope you found a kind that will agree with him...id have given anything if id been able to have breastfed, pop a spout in his mouth and know it was healthy and wasnt going to disagree with him, it would have been so much easier to go along with cheaper.

Answer 5

During my son's first year I probably spent $480 on formula ($11.50 per can x 4 cans/month) and then $120 on feeding supplies.



But then I spent $100 in lactation consultant fees, $250 breast pump $50 in nursing bras and tanks, $80 renting a hospital grade pump all while trying my hardest to make breastfeeding work.

Answer 6

My daughter would go through roughly 14 cans a month of Similac Advance(the small 12.9 oz cans). Each can is 13.17 where I live so that is 184.38 a month. For the entire year she was on it was roughly 2212.56 for just formula. I didn't rely on WIC for the formula, we purchased it ourselves. Wish I would have been better educated and or had more support the first time around we would have a lot more money to this day!

Answer 7

Probably depends largely on the kind of formula you are using.



Let's see-I bottle fed both mine, and formula was around $24/can and I used 1 can/week. I spent Around $100/month just on formula. Add in bottles, nipples, bottle brushes, etc-around $75, and that would be a constant-not every month.



So, roughly for 12 months, that is $1200 in formula alone, plus $75 in bottles and accessories. $1275 total.



Add in the cost of a breast pump-around $200, some nipple cream, breast pads, nursing tops and bras-another $200 (just an estimate). So subtract $400 from $1275. $875. And if you didn't need nursing tops and bras, and whatnot, it would be even more saved.

Answer 8

The first question is how much does milk does an average baby eat during their first year of life. According to Kelly Bonyata, a certified breast-feeding specialist, an average baby, over the first year of their life, eats an average of 25 ounces of milk per day. This amount varies throughout the year, peaking well above 25 ounces around 7-8 months, but is much lower early on and near the end of the year as an average baby begins to transition to solids.



If we do the math, then, an average baby eats 9,125 ounces of milk/formula during their first year of life.



To determine the cost of formula, I again turned to statistics provided by Kelly, who said the average cost of an ounce of formula in November 2005 varied from a low of $0.07/ounce to a high of $0.31/ounce. As a generic estimate, I averaged these two to come up with an “average” formula price of $0.19/ounce.



So, if we do a straight multiplication here, we find that over the first year of life, average formula to feed an average baby costs $1,733.75, while the cost of breastmilk is $0. In both cases, we are ignoring indirect costs, such as additional nutritional needs for a nursing mother as well as costs of going to the store to buy formula, bottles, and water for formula.

Answer 9

Me, none... but I bought a $300 breast pump, 2 $50 covers, 2 dozen nursing tops, books, drives to a latch consultant, and paying her.... I hated every bit of the 11 months I did it. If I have another I will save money by formula feeding after the first 6 weeks.... Just not for me.

Answer 10

a lot



http://www.suite101.com/content/cost-comparison-of-breastfeeding-and-formula-a128286

Answer 11

$100 per month - one can a week if I remember right. It may be a little more.

Answer 12

alot of money. its healthier and makes your kids smarter too.