Excess Costs and Medical Services for Non-Breastfed Infants

Table 22-3   -- Excess Medical Cost Among 1,000 Never Breast-Fed Vs 1,000 Exclusive (>3 Months) Breast-Fed Infants

	EXCESS SERVICES PER YEAR/1,000 NEVER BREAST-FED	TOTAL EXCESS COST
Office visits	1,693	$111,315
Follow-up visits	340	$22,355
Medications[*]	609	$7,669
Chest radiography	51	$1,836
Days of hospitalization[†]	212	$187,866
Total excess cost per year		$331,031

Adapted from Ball TM, Wright AL: Health care costs of formula-feeding in the first year of life. Pediatrics 103:870, 1999.

*	Lower respiratory infection, otitis media.

†	Lower respiratory infection, gastroenteritis.