What is it about?
Researchers used documentary and bioarchaeological evidence to estimate upper and lower bounds on the economic value of unpaid breastfeeding in England from 1540 to 2000 CE, finding that its contribution to gross domestic product was highest in 1540 at 6.58% but fell behind a growing economy until the late nineteenth century. Breastfeeding's prevalence declined as incomes rose, but relative decline in remuneration for nursing labour also contributed. Researchers identify a reversal of this pattern at the turn of the twentieth century, when mean breastfeeding duration rose, followed by continued decline over the twentieth century. The results suggest that unpaid breastfeeding represented a dynamic and significant human capital investment in early modern England, at times larger than expenditure on school and apprenticeship fees.
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Why is it important?
Care work is valuable but often invisible. Maternal breastfeeding, for example, benefits both children and mothers, but it is not captured by standard measures of economic value because it is unpaid labour. This research uses market substitutes to impute breastfeeding’s value, which rivaled other significant economic activities throughout history. The prevalence of breastfeeding has declined markedly over time.
Perspectives
Care work is often measured as a residual or unchanging part of the economy---yes, it is important, but there is a basic package of care, often provided for free within families, that can safely be taken for granted. This study began as a demonstration of how this view can mislead. The history of maternal breastfeeding is dynamic, not static, and its extent responded to economic growth in surprising ways. We think our research shows that care work is a fundamental but independent part of the economy.
Louis Henderson
London School of Economics and Political Science
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Valuing five centuries of unpaid breastfeeding in England, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, September 2026, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2600844123.
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