Another read and discuss. - play nice.

PrairieMom wrote: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/27/business...=3&ref=business


This just drives me nuts. How can they seriously pay for astroturf for those with severe allergies, but not beast bumps for those that nurse?


I'm not judging formula feeders, I FF, even Charlie has had some formula. do what you feel is right for your family, not everyone can breastfeed... ( did I cover everything? LOL)
My beef is with the US government that fails to recognize the benefits of BM.

"A study released this year by Harvard Medical School concluded that if 90 percent of mothers followed the standard medical advice of feeding infants only breast milk for their first six months, the United States could save $13 billion a year in health care costs and prevent the premature deaths of 900 infants each year from respiratory illness and other infections."

That alone should be enough criteria to cover the breast pump if a mother chooses to use one.

lisar replied: Well I didnt breast feed but it was because of certain reasons. However, I fully support the mothers that want to breast feed, and I fully support the mothers that want to formula feed.
I do think that they should cover breast pumps, why would they not? It just doesnt make any sense to me. Its the same as insurance company's not paying birth control pills, well then they can just pay for the birth of the baby and then the insurance on the baby???? Doesnt make sense.

luvbug00 replied: I completely agree..with the IRS. sort of

for acne that is so dumb they can pay taxes on that, it's vanity.

Sorry.



and what an expense!

Breast feeding is a choice. do i get break on formula if i make that choice? no
so why do breast feeding mothers get to get all the perks?
nope sorry.

PrairieMom replied:
Ok, I get ya. Its a choice. BUT you can get Free formula on the reservations, you get formula through WIC, so why not pumps?

lisar replied:
Tara you have a valid point there, if WIC would pay for a pump more mothers might breast feed. I think it would come out ALOT cheaper for them to pay for one pump than to pay for formula.

luvbug00 replied: true and valid point. except not all moms qualify for WIC in our state to get into that program is not easy ( i know i tried) i dont make enough to afford on my own but too much for government assistance. I do know however they rent pumps at our health clinic.

mummy2girls replied: Here where i aM they cover at least 80 percent for breast puMps... soMetiMes 100 depending on ins coMpany.

I wish i could of continued to breast feed but with My heMoraging in surgery My body stopped lactating and no drugs helped to build it back up:(

luvbug00 replied: Shelly you are so lucky, health care here blows big fat _____ lol!

mummy2girls replied:
both of our health cares have the positives and neg. One thing i like about yours is no long waits for appointents and other things.

I like ours because we are covered 100 percent for surgeries, hospital stays, er visits, doc visits, cancer treatMents, Medical treatMents,having a baby etc etc etc.When jordan was in teh NICU, peds ward and PICU and had his surgries tests etc i didnt have to pay a cent. the only thing we have to get additional insurance coverage is for dentists, eye, prescriptions, chiro, etc. We have a prograM for kids that if your low incoMe they get 100 percent coverage for EVERYTHING. When jenna was in the ABC headtsrta and had speech therapy, occupational therapy and physical therapy i didnt have to pay a cent. and its not ebcause I was low incoMe at that tiMe but its covered for anyone....

PrairieMom replied: My insurance wouldn't pay for pump rental, which cost me $65 a month.

boyohboyohboy replied: I am a fan of WICC for moms and kids. However, I agree at least here, they dont provide moms with the option of a pump, and also dont provide milk alternatives to kids with food allergies.
I know there is legislation going on to help with this issue. There is a big country music star who fights this battle, I am trying to think of his name, I want to say Trace Adkins?

moped replied: Pretty sure my company isnurance covered the rental - yes in fact it did now that I recall!

I am sure the goverment has a list a mile long of things that they need to look at. Tara, why don't you submit something and start pushing for it - you could be our hero! I am serious! Make it happen! YOU GO GIRL

Nina J replied: I don't see why breast pumps aren't covered?

It's different here in Australia, though. When you have a child here, you get a 'baby bonus'. So, the government gives you $5,000 when you have a baby...$10,000 if you have twins, etc.

So, I guess here, if you need a breast pump, the government gives you the money for it, and other things for your baby.

PrairieMom replied:
ARE YOU FLIPPIN SERIOUS?!?!?!

luvbug00 replied: Nina i'm moving to your country and popping out another one! lol.
seriously and back on topic

I think if the government covered breast pump rentals and formula both sets of moms would be good to go.
no matter what unless formula costs go down any parent feeding that way needs a break if they can get it. Regardless how you cut it they will pay more to feed their kids then formula moms. by choise or not.

PrairieMom replied:
you mean FF moms will pay more than BF moms?

luvbug00 replied: yea i think it's got to be more. easily.
I mean you have to pay for breast pads, pump which unless broken is a one time payment, bottles (some woman that may have to pump and work), nipple cream and some other things to assist.
Formula moms pay about 20 a small can of formula that lasts what? a week? then all the almost same items as a bf mom. we need breast pads some even have to use pumps to get rid of clogged breast milk. which they might rent.
the $20 buck a can alone is enough.

PrairieMom replied: But the argument for the reimbursement is not due to the upfront cost of one or the other, The argument is about the health cost.

It is proven that Children that are BF have lower chances of respiratory infection, allergies and obesity, all things which would cost health care $ down the road. That would be the argument for covering the pumps. Not the out of pocket cost of the mother.

luvbug00 replied: But with the advancement of formulas in the next couple years i wouldn't be surprised if they copied breast milk almost if not perfectly identically.
Maybe they are just biding time until that happens.

A&A'smommy replied:
not possible. Yes there are LOTS of advancements but they will never be able to put the antibodies that come from bm nothing is completely comparable, not even close.
BUT with that said in the beggining with Alyssa I didn't really want to breastfeed until she was born of course then there were complications and I was young. BUT either way it was MY choice not to breastfeed, Autumn I nursed for 4 months and honestly she is a lot healthier, she catches less than lissa, and she doesn't have the same allergy issues as Alyssa.
I think they should cover breastpumps, it could save LOTS of money, not JUST for healthcare but also for formual which is SOOO expensive. formula cost us 100+ dollars a month. Where they could pay 200 for a pump and it would pay for itself in two months.

coasterqueen replied:
I agree, and I don't know why they don't cover pumps. They cover appointments to go see the doc for breastfeeding issues like plugged ducts, yeast issues, etc. I don't recall, but I don't think health insurance covers lactation consultants and I think they should do that - I think a LOT more people would use them if they did! Now my insurance covered the LC while I was in the hospital, hence the reason I stayed 5 days with Kylie. We didn't need to stay there, even though I had a c-section, but I was having MAJOR issues with BF and the LC said, nope not going home until we get some of this resolved so it was cheaper. After that the only way I got to see her free is if I came to the hospital's class they offer "Breastfeeding mother lunches" once a week.

ETA: And I, personally, even though I'll probably get slammed for this -- I think a lot more FF might have succeeded with BF longer (if they BF in the beginning) if LC were covered AND they were educated on them. So many people are NOT education on lactation consultant help, it's terribly sad. And those you do try to educate and tell them to go see a LC, they won't if it costs.

A&A'smommy replied:
I COMPLETELY agree!!

PrairieMom replied:
I also agree.

PrairieMom replied:
This is very true. Formula companies would have you believe that Formula is just as good, or very close to BM. But the reality is that There is absolutely no way to copy it. BM differs from mother to mother, so, who's milk would they copy? In addition, BM changes throughout the day, so one mothers milk differs chemically in the morning from her milk in the evenings.

coasterqueen replied:
It's that way with EVERYTHING in the world. Nothing is better than what nature intended for us to have, or some may say what God intended for us to have. However you wanna say it. Nothing will ever be as good as it's synthetically made -- it's just the way it is. Same thing we teach our children every day how fruits and vegetables from the garden are healthier for you than processed foods, etc. It's an argument people will have for ever and ever about how formula is just as good as breastmilk, but I will never see it and I don't know how anyone does. It's like McD's trying to be healthier with their chicken nuggets and fries........still no where near as healthy as cutting up free-range chicken into "nuggets" and baking homemade potato fries......you know what I mean.

ETA: Even breastmilk when frozen is NOT the same as breastmilk pumped and given fresh or given straight from the breast, because antibodies are frozen, then thawed and you lose some of them. Same with veggies, etc, etc.

boyohboyohboy replied:
Nope when we first found out Jakob had food allergies, they offered us formula, and when I showed them that the formula contained milk they just shrugged.
I BF him till he was 13 months old, and then was told that was to long and he needed food, that was their opinion as to why he wasnt gaining weight..
Then we were told to take the milk, cheese, and eggs and feed him...BUT HE WAS ALLERGIC..so again the shrug..

So WICC was no help to us. I wondered then what would single moms do who needed help but had babies with food allergies.

luvbug00 replied: I would have been sunk! I cant wait till they fix that snap poo. not cool.

PrairieMom replied:
no doubt. The 2 weeks they wanted us to try Charlie on the special hypoallergenic formula would have cost us nearly $300. it was $40 a can which lasted us about 2 days. There is no way we could have afforded to feed him at that price, and we are doing OK financially.

mummy2girls replied:
really LC isnt covered there? it is here. When i was struggling with BF Breanna i went to the health clinic and they had LC that coMe together and help others that want to BF but are having probleMs...

flirtycuddle replied: I tried breast feeding both of my children and neither one was able to be due to complications with me. I saw a LC in the hospital and even had them tell me that I needed to supplement and pump in which was fine in the hospital but unable to do at home due to costs of pumps.

With WICC both of my children had dairy issues and all WICC would do was give soy with a doctors note for formula or after a year old. Both children couldn't tolerate soy either so we were left buying formula ourselves. With my son he was put on neocate (55 a can) that would last me 3 days if I was lucky. We were going through 15-18 cans a month and thankfully our insurance covered the cost of it. I know a few families whose insurance did not cover the cost and would rather have the child admitted to the hospital to be tube fed then put out the money for the needed formula every month. I stopped using WICC when my son was 6 months old because they would only supply 6 cans a month and if I was using WICC then insurance wouldn't cover the formula.

If there had been more access to the LC or breast pumps I possibly would have tried harder to breast feed but with the issues I had then my children had with food I don't know how successful it would have been. Even if we did not have insurance to cover the cost of the formula for son there was no tax break for paying over $1000 a month on formula for him.

MommyToAshley replied:
I was going to say this very thing.. BM changes as the baby's needs changes.

I agree that BF is a choice, and I would never judge anyone for chosing to FF their child. However, I do think there are health benefits to BF and that if there are tax incentives for other preventitive measures, then I think there should be for BF and the cost of pumps should be deductible. Ashley was BF... she is eight years old and has never been sick enough that she needed an antibiotic. (knock on wood). There is scientific proof that BF helps the immune system by passing on the mother's antibodies and for that reason alone, the deduction should be allowed. That doesn't mean that everyone should be forced to BF or that one should feel bad about any choice made or not made, but I think it is proof enough that the IRS should provide tax incentives to do so since it has been proven to improve the health of infants and therefore reduce the health care costs. This doesn't change the fact that BF is still a choice.

PrairieMom replied:
very well said.

coasterqueen replied:
So true!!!

mummy2girls replied: I agree BF is ore healthier tha FF ... i FF Jenna but i just gave up, being alone and no support froM faMily and i was lazy i didnt look for help:( Breanna I BF for about 3 weeks or so. I had BAD coMplications 1 week after having her and had eMergency surgery and lost 2 litres of blood. My body stopped lactating and no drug or anything helped. So i was forced to FF.

That being said Me and Marcus are the opposite of what everyone is saying. IM not saying this to be HAHAHA BF is not beneficial I just think with us its funny.... My MoM FF Me and i have an awesoMe iMMune systeM I hardly get sick ever. I was a very healthy child growing up and now as an adult. I never catch any colds and the last tiMe i had the stoMach bug where I was voMitting I dont even reMeMber. The kids in the dayhoMe, Jenna, Breanna and Marcus all got the nasty cold that went through here. They all had coughs, sore throats, fevers, the runs, etc etc and Marcus even lost his voice. I got nothing!!!! LOL. Marcus was BF for 12 Months and he got the MuMps, Measels,Whopping cough, Croup, Pneuonia as a child even though he was iMMunized agaisnt theM. he can catch a cold if you say cold in front of hiM, he gets at least one stoMach bug a year, he loses his voice at least 5 tiMes a year. and it was like this as a child too...

That all aside... The gov should cover things like breast puMps and such and get More help out there for new MoMs that want to BF. BUT even if the stuff was covered it is up to the MoM to use it. We have those things covered here, puMp rentals, LC help etc etc etc and alot just choose to FF as it easier. Alot i think give up in frustration and just FF. soMe want the help and feel they dont want to be tied down and not be able to go out and drink etc etc etc. its cheaper as its free to BF and FF is expensive but its the choice of the MoM.

coasterqueen replied:
It may be cheaper but it's NOT free for everyone. I spent massive amounts of money to be a BF mom. Why? Because I was a BF mom who worked. So I had to pay for a pump, I had to pay for pump pieces, bottles, nursing pads, baggies to put the milk in, etc, etc, etc. So it's not free. While I am sure formula costs WAY MORE than I ever paid for the stuff to give my babies breastmilk while I wasn't there for them, it's still not free. A large part of society forgets about those mothers who not only BF their children, but who deal with the issue of working outside of the home and the stresses that go along with pumping at work, dealing with time issues, stresses bosses can give, etc, etc. And all of that comes at costs. Costs that no one but yourself is paying for.

mummy2girls replied:
no i Meant the Milk itself is free. i know the other things that go along is expensive... puMp, pads, creaM, etc etc etc.Believe e i know because i bought the puMp, pads, crea, freezing bags, etc etc etc. FF is as well but More expensive because you pay for the Milk plus bottles etc etc etc. I think the Gov should help...