Offering money to a mother to breastfeed her child for at least 6-8 weeks after childbirth would motivate her to do so … only in areas where women breastfeed little. This is happening in England.
The study (Nourishing Start for Health) was conducted between April 1, 2015 and March 31, 2016 in 92 electoral areas in England. The question was whether paying young mothers encouraged them to breastfeed their newborns for 6 to 8 weeks after giving birth. Doctors strongly recommend it, because nothing is better for the baby than breast milk! And all the incentives are right for moms to do it. 5 vouchers worth £ 40 were given to mothers on different birthdays of babies, i.e. at 2 and 10 days, then between 6 and 8 weeks, finally at 3 and 6 months , for a total sum of £ 240.
An effective incentive in certain regions
Result: It appears that offering a breastfeeding bonus works: among women who breastfed, a difference of 5.7 percentage points in favor of the incentive compared to usual care appeared at the end of the 6 to 8 weeks of follow-up. However, no significant difference was observed for the mean frequency of breastfeeding.
Ultimately, it appears that financial incentives can increase the number of women breastfeeding, but only in areas where the number of women breastfeeding spontaneously is low. There remains the ethical question.
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