|Project: Economic Benefits of a Breast-Feeding Promotion: A Controlled Clinical Trial
|Award Year: 1999
|Amount of award, fiscal 1999: $399,700.00
|Institution: Montefiore Medical Center
|Principal Investigator: Karen Bonuck
|Detailed Objective: This work evaluates the economic benefits of a pre- and postnatal breastfeeding
promotion intervention by measuring its impact upon child health care costs,
breastfeeding practices, and child health outcomes. Breastfeeding is the preferred
infant-feeding method for most infants because of its beneficial impact upon
general health and well-being. The most effective breastfeeding interventions
include in-person and individualized lactation support spanning the pre-and
postnatal periods. This type of lactation support reflects the kind of public
health promotion activity that may be encouraged if the economic costs and benefits
were known. The economic consequences of breastfeeding promotion interventions
have not been evaluated, despite their potential potency and cost-savings.
This project is relevant to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Special Supplemental
Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), given its breastfeeding
research, intent to promote breastfeeding, and the high proportion of WIC participants
and eligibles in the low-income population. The intervention to be studied--individualized
professional lactation support--is one that could be incorporated into WIC,
either through expanding the existing program or by including a separate lactation
support benefit. It is hypothesized that the economic benefits of an intensive
breastfeeding promotion intervention will exceed the marginal economic costs
of providing such an intervention. Further, it is hypothesized that the pre-
and postnatal intervention will have a positive impact upon breastfeeding intentions,
initiation, and duration, as well as be associated with reduced incidence and
severity of specific infant and childhood illnesses. A grant was awarded to
the Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine at a cost
of $399,700 in fiscal 1999. The work is expected to be completed by September
Bonuck K., K. Freeman, and M. Trombley. “Country of Origin and Race/Ethnicity: Impact on Breastfeeding Intentions,” Journal of Human Lactation, Vol. 21, No. 3, August 2005.
Bonuck, K., M. Trombley, K. Freeman, and D. McKee. "Randomized, Controlled Trial of a Prenatal and Postnatal Lactation Consultant Intervention on Duration and Intensity of Breastfeeding up to 12 Months," Pediatrics, Vol. 116, No. 6, December 2005.
Freeman, K., K. Bonuck, and M. Trombley. “Breastfeeding and Infant Illness in Low-Income Minority Women: A Prospective Cohort Study of the Dose-Response Relationship,” Journal of Human Lactation, Vol. 24, No. 1, February 2008.
Memmott, M., and K. Bonuck. “Mother’s Reactions to a Skills-Based Breastfeeding Promotion Intervention,” Maternal and Child Nutrition Journal, Vol. 2, Issue 1, January 2006.