Evidence shows that breastfeeding has many health, human capital and future economic benefits for young children, their mothers and countries. The new Cost of Not Breastfeeding tool, based on open access data, was developed to help policy-makers and advocates have information on the estimated human and economic costs of not breastfeeding at the country, regional and global levels. The results of the analysis using the tool show that 595 379 childhood deaths (6 to 59 months) from diarrhoea and pneumonia each year can be attributed to not breastfeeding according to global recommendations from WHO and UNICEF. It also estimates that 974 956 cases of childhood obesity can be attributed to not breastfeeding according to recommendations each year. For women, breastfeeding is estimated to have the potential to prevent 98 243 deaths from breast and ovarian cancers as well as type II diabetes each year. This level of avoidable morbidity and mortality translates into global health system treatment costs of US$1.1 billion annually. The economic losses of premature child and women’s mortality are estimated to equal US$53.7 billion in future lost earnings each year. The largest component of economic losses, however, is the cognitive losses, which are estimated to equal US$285.4 billion annually. Aggregating these costs, the total global economic losses are estimated to be US$341.3 billion, or 0.70% of global gross national income. While the aim of the tool is to capture the majority of the costs, the estimates are likely to be conservative since economic costs of increased household caregiving time (mainly borne by women), and treatment costs related to other diseases attributable to not breastfeeding according to recommendations are not included in the analysis. This study illustrates the substantial costs of not breastfeeding, and potential economic benefits that could be generated by government and development partners’ investments in scaling up effective breastfeeding promotion and support strategies.

Rates of exclusive breastfeeding are slowly increasing, but remain suboptimal globally despite the health and economic benefits. This study estimates the costs of not breastfeeding across seven countries in Southeast Asia and presents a cost-benefit analysis of a modeled comprehensive breastfeeding strategy in Viet Nam, based on a large programme. There have been very few such studies previously for low- and middle-income countries. The estimates used published data on disease prevalence and breastfeeding patterns for the seven countries, supplemented by information on healthcare costs from representative institutions. Modelling of costs of not breastfeeding used estimated effects obtained from systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Modelling of cost-benefit for Viet Nam used programme data on costs combined with effects from a large-scale cluster randomized breastfeeding promotion intervention with controls. This study found that over 12 400 preventable child and maternal deaths per year in the seven countries could be attributed to inadequate breastfeeding. The economic benefits associated with potential improvements in cognition alone, through higher IQ and earnings, total $1.6 billion annually. The loss exceeds 0.5% of Gross National Income in the country with the lowest exclusive breastfeeding rate (Thailand). The potential savings in health care treatment costs ($0.3 billion annually) from reducing the incidence of diarrhoea and pneumonia could help offset the cost of breastfeeding promotion. Based on the data available and authors’ assumptions, investing in a national breastfeeding promotion strategy in Viet Nam could result in preventing 200 child deaths per year and generate monetary benefits of US$2.39 for every US$1, or a 139% return on investment. These encouraging results suggest that there are feasible and affordable opportunities to accelerate progress towards achieving the Global Nutrition Target for exclusive breastfeeding by 2025.

BackgroundIn Indonesia, 96% of children (< 24mo) are breastfed. However, only 42% of children (< 6mo) are exclusively breastfed, as per World Health Organization recommendations. Breastfeeding provides protective benefits such as reducing the risk of morbidity and mortality associated with diarrhea and pneumonia/respiratory disease (PRD). This study estimates the potential economic impact of not breastfeeding according to recommendation in Indonesia based on infants suffering from attributable diarrhea and PRD.MethodsA cost analysis examined both the healthcare system costs and non-medical costs for children (< 24mo) with diarrhea and PRD. Data collection took place between 2015 and 2016 and healthcare expenditures were assessed in 13 facilities, in five sites including Bandung and Tomohon City. Costs from a provider perspective were estimated using healthcare records and 26 interviews with healthcare workers. A discount rate of 3% was used. A cross-sectional survey with caregiver-child pairs (n = 615) collected data related to out of pocket costs such transportation and opportunity costs such as wage loss. These figures were combined with the national disease prevalence rates from Indonesia Demographic and Health Survey 2012, and the relative risk of disease of not breastfeeding according to recommendation from literatures to extrapolate the financial burden of treatment.ResultsThe healthcare system cost due to not breastfeeding according to recommendation was estimated at US$118 million annually. The mean healthcare system cost and out of pocket costs was US$11.37 and US$3.85 respectively. This cost consists of US$88.64 million of provider costs and US$29.98 million of non-medical patient costs.ConclusionsThe cost of not breastfeeding according to recommendation is potentially high, therefore the Indonesian government needs to invest in breastfeeding protection, promotion and support as the potential healthcare system cost savings are significant. As suggested by other studies, the long term cost due to cognitive losses of providing not breastfeeding according to recommendation should also be taken into account to provide a complete understanding of the economic impact of not breastfeeding according to recommendation.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s13006-018-0152-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Impact of COVID-19 on maternal and child healthThe study by Timothy Roberton and colleagues (July, 2020), 1 which modelled the indirect effects of COVID-19 on maternal and child mortality in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), highlights potential consequences of disruptions to routine health care and decreased access to food. While the total projected impact is shocking, the analysis omitted modelling disruptions in breastfeeding practices because the authors "assumed only a marginal reduction in these activities." 1 The COVID-19 pandemic is already indirectly threatening breastfeeding practices (early initiation and exclusive and continued breastfeeding). Universal breastfeeding could prevent 823 000 child deaths per year, 2 yet additional examination as part of COVID-19 impact modelling is needed.During the COVID-19 pandemic, reductions in breastfeeding prevalence will plausibly occur due to limitations in the provision and use of health services and disruptions to the enabling environment. Limitations in the availability of skilled health workers and increased reluctance by women to use the health system could lead to lower coverage of antenatal care, postnatal care, and facility and communitybased lactation support and counselling. Anecdotal evidence suggests that some health facilities are inappropriately separating newborn babies from mothers and discouraging breastfeeding because of unfounded fears of transmission of COVID-19 through breastmilk. These situations might result in a decline in early initiation of breastfeeding after birth-missing the child's first natural vaccine (colostrum)-and, in turn, exclusive breastfeeding.The enabling household environment for breastfeeding can be

Background Almost half of all Indonesian children under 6 months of age were not exclusive breastfed in 2017. Optimizing maternity protection programs may result in increased breastfeeding rates. This study aims to: estimate the potential cost implications of optimizing the current paid maternity protection program, estimate budgets needed to increase coverage of lactation rooms in mid and large firms, and explore challenges in its implementation in Indonesia. Methods The potential cost implication of the current and increased maternity leave length (three and 6 months) as well as the potential budget impact to the government were estimated for 2020 to 2030. The cost of setting up lactation rooms in formal sector companies was estimated using the Alive & Thrive standards. Interviews were conducted in five different provinces to 29 respondents in 2016 to identify current and potential challenges in implementing both existing and improved maternity protection policies. Results The costs of expanding paid maternity leave from three to 6 months and incorporating standardized lactation rooms in 80% of medium and large size firms in Indonesia was estimated at US$1.0 billion (US$616.4/mother per year) from 2020 to 2030, covering roughly 1.7 million females. The cost of setting up a basic lactation room in 80% of medium and large companies may reach US$18.1 million over 10 years. The three main barriers to increasing breastfeeding rates were: breastmilk substitutes marketing practices, the lack of lactation rooms in workplaces, and local customs that may hamper breastfeeding according to recommendations. Conclusions The cost of expanding paid maternity leave is lower than the potential cost savings of US$ 1.5 billion from decreased child mortality and morbidity, maternal cancer rates and cognitive loss. Sharing the cost of paid maternity leave between government and the private sector may provide a feasible economic solution. The main barriers to increasing breastfeeding need to be overcome to reap the benefits of recommended breastfeeding practices. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13006-019-0221-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.