The volume and monetary value of human milk produced by the world’s breastfeeding mothers: Results from a new tool

The Mothers’ Milk Tool was developed to give visibility to the economic value contributed to society by women’s unpaid care work through breastfeeding infants and young children. This equates to a monetary loss of approximately US$ 2.2 trillion, annually, at a conservative estimate. Breastfeeding women globally produces around 35.6 billion liters of milk annually, but 38.2% is currently “lost” due to various cultural and structural factors. This tool provides policymakers and advocates with real-time data to drive positive change.

Read the journal article in Frontiers here.