Op-Ed: Atlanta Shouldn't Stand Between Mothers And Their Babies

By Edward Timmons and Ethan Kelley | Knee Center for the Study of Occupational Regulation, The Center Square Georgia

November 14, 2022

Now is not the time to make it harder for mothers to breastfeed their children, but that is exactly the course of current policy for lactation consultants in Atlanta.

The formula shortage is reducing options for mothers in Georgia and there appears to be no end in sight to this ongoing challenge. A lower court made its verdict earlier this year, but the future now lies in the hands of the Georgia Supreme Court.

Here are the facts in the case. Earlier this year, the Fulton County Superior Court ruled that the state’s law on lactation consultants was unconstitutional. The 2016 law was unique in that it required aspiring lactation consultants in the state to complete college courses and no fewer than 300 hours of supervised work experience. Judge Eric Dunaway ruled that the law violated the state’s equal protection clause—treating some lactation consultants in the state different from others. The state has appealed the lower court’s decision and the case is currently being considered by the Georgia Supreme Court.

Working with two other economists, one of us (Timmons) submitted an amicus brief to the Supreme Court. Our comments can be summarized as follows.

First, despite good intentions, occupational licensing often fails to deliver. There is very little evidence that licensing improves the quality of services. Second, licensing does impose substantial costs on consumers. An analysis of occupational licensing in the U.S. finds clear evidence that the costs of licensing exceed any of its purported benefits. And these costs are not insignificant. Research estimates that licensing costs the U.S. nearly 2 million jobs and $184 billion each year. Additional work has shown a possible link between growth in occupational licensing and income inequality.

How does licensing result in all of these costs? By making it harder for aspiring lactation consultants to begin working, we can project that the 2016 law will reduce the number of lactation consultants. Indeed, economic research shows that occupational licensing can reduce employment by as much as 27%.

This is precisely the opposite result that advocates of the legislation predict. Indeed, a document from the Georgia Supreme Court estimates that there are 335 lactation consultants that meet the standards of the 2016 law. More than 800 do not. If the law were to take effect there is no doubt that the immediate consequence would be a reduction in the number of lactation consultants in the state.

Unfortunately, recent research shows that people of color bear the largest burden from licensing. Rates of licensing are as much as 10% lower for some communities. In addition, research also finds that patients prefer to see doctors from the same racial or ethnic group and we might expect similar preferences for mothers seeking lactation consultants.

In summary, there is no reason to believe that mothers in Georgia will benefit from making it uniquely difficult for lactation consultants to begin working in the state. Instead, research guides us to a very different conclusion. Making it tougher to work as a lactation consultant will reduce access to this critical service in the state. And unfortunately, this burden is likely to be felt the hardest on communities of color.

It can be argued that raising a child is the most important job in the world. Market conditions are already making this job tougher than normal. It simply makes no sense for Atlanta law to add to this burden.

The focus of the work of The Center Square Georgia is state and local-level government and economic reporting that approaches stories with a taxpayer sensibility.