Additionally I think it should be a matter between a mother and her pediatrician/lactation specialist and not the government.
You make the final call, but it should not be a struggle to feed your baby breast milk.
> subsidize breast pumps
Especially given that they can be rented, this is probably a clear positive to do.
> subsidize breast milk banks
Donor Milk is extremely expensive ($3-$5 an once). While infant consumers do see reduced rates of gastrointestinal tract infection and eczema, other benefits are less clear. Some more research would be needed to see if this is the best use of health dollars; perhaps a minimal amount of donor milk (several onces), combined with formula may be optimal.
> subsidize lactation consultants so that everyone can afford them
I'm down with this, as long as lactation consultants are more regulated. The ones we used were far overzealous in over-pushing breast feeding (e.g. overstating benefits)
I bet formula companies know all of this. They shipped a pallet of "free" formula to our address as soon as our daughter was born, unrequested.