Belinda Phipps of the NCT says that formula milk companies are finding ways to exploit ambiguity in the law and to continue aggressively marketing their products to parents
The World Health Organization recommends that babies are given breast milk exclusively for the first six months, and that a mother should continue to breastfeed up to the age of two years. The charities note that those children who are breastfed are better protected from infections and potentially from even more serious conditions later on in life.
Presently some 76% of UK mothers start out breastfeeding but most move on to formula within weeks, and fewer than half still breastfeed by the time their child is six weeks old. By six months, only 25% of mothers are breastfeeding at all.
But Dr Ellie Lee of the University of Kent who has researched women's experiences of infant feeding said the impact of advertising on the decision to switch from breast to bottle was "negligible".
"Some do it because of the pain of feeding or so they can feed their child at more regular intervals, some so they can share responsibility for feeding the baby, others because they are thinking of going back to work.
It has also been suggested that the increasing reluctance of health professionals to discuss formula milk as an option may mean some parents are not aware of the thorough sterilisation of feeding equipment that is needed to limit the risk of infection.
It is unclear whether a ban on advertising formula milk is likely, but it is thought that companies will no longer be able to make claims about similarity to breast milk on their packets under new restrictions. Some companies have slogans such as "even closer to breast milk", "the closest to breast milk" on their packaging, pointing to the fatty acids and probiotic bacteria found in breast milk that are included in the ingredients.
August 2007
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