Published date: May 17 2018

Journal Title: KnE Life Sciences

Issue title: The 2nd International Meeting of Public Health 2016 (IMOPH) – Part I

Pages: 532–540

DOI: 10.18502/kls.v4i4.2315

E Nugroho Njotoedwin_n_njoto@yahoo.com

E Maria Djaputra

J Franciscus Pardosi

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2013), in 2013 the percentage of exclusive breastfeeding for six months was less than one-fifth of the overall rate of breastfeeding initiation, which was related to socioeconomic status. This paper discusses the expenses related to breastfeeding and the reasons that the Australian Government should prolong the duration of the paid parental leave scheme to support exclusive breastfeeding. The literature for this systematic review was drawn from MEDLINE, Scopus, Google Scholar and various reports by agencies of the Australian Government. The inclusion criteria were based on the economic benefits of breastfeeding, the costs related to diseases caused by premature weaning and other financial factors. The selected previous studies were analysed to present a narrative review of the key themes. Sixteen studies and reports were selected from 144 sources. The findings of the review showed that in Australia, the total potential economic cost to individual income of the time spent on exclusive breastfeeding was approximately A$611.49 million (A$31,498.80 per mother per six months). However, in 2002, the short-term cost savings was A$60 million. The total cost savings would be higher if other expenses in long-term premature weaning were calculated based on current value. Based on the findings of this literature review, the benefits of breastfeeding outweigh its costs. The findings suggest that the Australian Government should
consider an additional financial incentive for breastfeeding mothers in order to reduce the gap between the proportion of exclusive breastfeeding mothers and better newborn health outcomes.

Keywords: breastfeeding, cost saving, Australia, parental leave, premature weaning

[1] Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). (2015). Births, Australia, 2014 Retrieved from Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/ abs@.nsf/mf/3301.0


[2] Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2016). Average weekly earnings, Australia, May 2016. Retrieved from http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/0/ 7F76D15354BB25D5CA2575BC001D5866?Open document


[3] Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS]. (2013). Australian Health Survey: Health Service Usage and Health Related Actions, 2011-12 Retrieved from http://www. abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/6664B939E49FD9C1CA257B39000F2E4B


[4] Australian Government Department of Human Services. (2016). Paid parental leave scheme. Retrieved from https://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/ services/centrelink/parental-leave-pay


[5] Economic Organisation for Co-operation and Development. (OECD). (2009). CO1.5: Breastfeeding rates. Retrieved from https://www.oecd.org/els/family/ 43136964.pdf


[6] Forster, D. A., McLachlan, H. L., & Lumley, J. (2006). Factors associated with breastfeeding at six months postpartum in a group of Australian women. International Breastfeeding Journal, 1, 18. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1186/1746-4358-1- 18


[7] Horta, B. L., & Victora, C. G. (2013a). Long-term effects of breastfeeding: A systematic review Retrieved from
http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/79198/1/9789241505307_eng.pdf


[8] Horta, B. L., & Victora, C. G. (2013). Short-term effects of breastfeeding: A systematic review on the benefit of breastfeeding on diarrhoea and pneumonia mortality. Retrieved from http://apps.who .int/iris/bitstream/10665/95585/1/9789241506120_eng.pdf


[9] Johnson, T. J., Patel, A. L., Bigger, H. R., Engstrom, J. L., & Meier, P. P. (2015). Cost Savings of Human Milk as a Strategy to Reduce the Incidence of Necrotizing Enterocolitis in Very Low Birth Weight Infants. Neonatology, 107(4), 271-276. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4458214/


[10] PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC). (2015). Weighting the cost of obesitya case for action. Retrieved from https://www.pwc.com.au/pdf/ weighing-the-cost-of-obesity-final.pdf


[11] Smith, J., & Harvey, P. (2011). Chronic disease and infant nutrition: is it significant to public health? Public Health Nutrition, 14(2), 279-289. Retrieved from https://www. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20624333


[12] Tawia, S. (2013). What price breastfeeding? Australian Breastfeeding Association (ABA). Retrieved from https://www.breastfeeding.asn.au/ what-price-breastfeeding


[13] The Fair Work Ombudsman. (2016). Minimum wages. Retrieved from https://www. fairwork.gov.au/ArticleDocuments/723/Minimum-wages.pdf.aspx


[14] The Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia (APH). (2007). The best start: Report on the inquiry into the health benefits of breastfeeding. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved from http://www.aph.gov.au/ parliamentary_business/committees/house_of_representatives_committees?
url=haa/breastfeeding/report/fullreport.pdf.


[15] Weimer, J. (2001). The Economic Benefits of Breastfeeding: A Review and Analysis. (13). U.S. Department of Agriculture Retrieved from http://www.ers.usda.gov/media/ 329098/fanrr13_1_.pdf.