A formula to exploit anxious mums
Robin Barker
August 22, 2007
Infant formula has a place but how have we reached a point where most babies, rather than just the few that need it, are receiving their nutrition via food manufactured in factories? By six months, 80 per cent of Australian babies are receiving infant formula; some occasionally, most as their main food source which adds up to enormous profits for the billion-dollar baby food manufacturing industry. It is also way below the government target of 80 per cent of babies being exclusively breastfed at six months.
There are many well-documented reasons why women abandon breastfeeding in
our culture, but a key factor is the marketing practices of formula manufacturers. It is true that the practice of providing samples to mothers in maternity hospitals has ceased, as has the advertising of formula for babies in their first six months Also, formula packaging acknowledges the superiority of breastmilk. But there are many other ways that the marketing practices of formula companies undermine breastfeeding, often by exploiting the fragility of new mothers.
Manufacturers send health professionals masses of formula samples upon request. The samples are only to be used for professional evaluation and research but this is more in the realm of fantasy than actuality. Samples are predominately used as replacements for time and advice. The road to weaning often starts with a vulnerable mother, a crying baby and a sample of formula handed out by a busy health professional.
Information about formula is restricted to being factual and objective. In practice the line between promotion and factual information is very thin. Manufacturers continue to make claims relating to the ingredients in their products. It is claimed, for example, by various companies that the additions of nucleotides, long chain fatty acids and probiotic bifidus aid digestion, help brains and eyes, support immune systems and play an important part in the development of baby's intestines - similar claims to those made about breastmilk. In the case of breastmilk, these claims are based on decades of conclusive scientific evidence. So far there is no conclusive, independent evidence that these inert ingredients in formula work in similar ways to the complex variety of nutrient and active immunological factors in breastmilk.
Supermarket chains and infant formula companies have internet sites which are difficult to regulate and have become virtual shop windows for unrestricted promotion of not only formula but bottles and teats as well. One brand of teat is promoted as being "exactly like a mother's nipple". Claiming that rubber or silicone teats are exactly the same as pliable, responsive human nipples is hilarious and shows an ignorance of basic anatomy and physiology.
The most worrying promotion of formula is the constant exploitation of the normal anxieties that beset parents, particularly first-time parents, who may not have access to good information about what is and isn't normal in regards to baby health and behaviour. Specialised formulas cater to the 50 per cent of healthy babies who regurgitate, and there is a range of products designed for "crying" babies, "constipated" babies, "colicky" babies and babies who "won't sleep".
One company has even named its formulas after these conditions: Sweet
Dreams, Anti-Constipation, Anti-Diarrhoea, and Anti-Colic. Labels such as these are not based on peer-reviewed scientific studies but marketing research. These tins of formula are often located in pharmacies in stands right near cash registers, positioned to catch the eyes of worried mothers.
Unrestricted advertising for products designed for babies over six months is still permitted in Australia. "Follow-on" formula and "toddler" formula are unnecessary products packaged in identical ways to infant formula.
At a recent Senate inquiry into breastfeeding, spokespeople for the Infant Formula Manufacturers Association of Australia expressed concern that the restrictions on advertising meant that families were not getting clear, objective information about infant formula.
I agree. I'm not sure what the association has in mind but it is really straightforward: there is no best formula. Although ingredients vary, they all provide the same basic nutritional requirements for growing babies. All formula in Australia must meet the Infant Formula Standard. When breastmilk is not available, choose a standard cow's milk formula which is suitable from birth. Use this for the whole of the first year. There are no advantages to organic or goat's milk formulas.
Boycott follow-on "milks" which are non-essential marketing tools. Formula is not required after the first year. Do your baby a favour and stop the bottles at 12 months. Offer a healthy diet and milk or water from a cup.
Herald Sun Article by Robin Barker "A formula to exploit anxious mums"
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