To think that Infant Formula should be a luxury?

[FridayThirteenth]

Actually I don't, but this is the warning that dairy producer Arla has given in a speech to LSE about the possible consequences of customs barriers and restriction of labour after Brexit (even in a soft brexit scenario):

www.foodbev.com/news/arla-warns-of-higher-costs-for-uk-consumers-after-brexit/

*“Our dependence on imported dairy products means that disruption to the supply chain will have a big impact.

“Most likely we would see shortages of products and a sharp rise in prices, turning every day staples, like butter, yoghurts, cheese and infant formula, into occasional luxuries. Speciality cheeses, where there are currently limited options for production, may become very scarce.

“It is important to be clear about this: Brexit might bring opportunities to expand the UK industry in the long term, but in the short and medium term we cannot just switch milk production on and off.

“Increasing the UK’s milk pool and building the infrastructure for us to be self-sufficient in dairy will take years.”*

So what are the consequences of this given the low breastfeeding rates in the UK generally? Would there be a higher uptake of breastfeeding? I know personally, despite being a committed breastfeeder, my DD probably wouldn't be alive without formula due to latch refusal and an inability to express enough. So higher breastfeeding rates combined with infant mortality?

Will we just have to suck up even more expensive formula?

Or perhaps we could go down my grandmothers route in the 60s when formula was prohibitively expensive and feed babies condensed milk (assuming that will be more available due to shelf life).

Genuinely interested in views here as haven't heard of this as a potential consequence. Given the recent votes in the commons making the possibility of a 'no deal' much more likely, how worried should we be?

I would like us to have over 90% breastfeeding rates and we hav a long way to go so if this helps - great.

Yes. This would be dandy. However there are children who need formula, and there are people who need supplementary nutrition, and I hope it dies not have difficult consequences for these people.

I'm surprised this hasn't attracted more discussion, to be honest.

I guess March 2019 still feels a long way away and those of us with babies now will have weaned by then.

Yes but I'd have thought mners currently pregnant would be taking an interest. I'm well past child bearing stage but still think it's an important and worrying possibility.

Graphista I'm currently pregnant and considering my options. I breastfed DS son (exclusively, for a long time) and hated it so had no intention of doing it this time, but this is making me reconsider that!

But I have to say, I'd do almost anything not to breastfeed again, so as long as there's formula available I'll pay whatever necessary for it.

Wellthis - sounds like you're fortunate enough to be able to pay "whatever necessary" and that's grand for you. The choice should be available.

But there are many families who

A can't afford to pay "whatever necessary"

B the mothers don't have the choice to bf. It's rare but there are women and babies who can't manage bf.

I hope it doesn't become an issue but the whole thing is being SO poorly dealt with by uk govt (and I blame all parties for that!) that it's a real worry.

Personally I'm on mh meds that come from Europe and which it is dangerous to stop suddenly. There's people on meds from Europe for life threatening conditions that are facing this concern too - it's such a frightening situation.

Yes, saw this on the news recently. It is super scary, obviously the bigger picture of a no-deal Brexit could be complete catastrophe (sorry for the scaremongering, but it could) and specifically for essentials like, medicines, medicinal foods, infant formula, so many necessaries.

Some ppl really think it will not happen - as we move closer to the date it will be increasingly apparent, if there is still no deal by then, the amount of contingency planning the gov't is having to do will make ppl very scared. And that will be enough to drive a repeal of Article 50, even at the very very last minute.

HOWEVER -- I do think doh (if that is them) should be doing contingency planning on stuff like formula supplies as well as all essential medicines. organisations like baby friendly and others SHOULD be making it clear that they are liaising with doh to work out how this is all going to be safeguarded. so far it does not seem at least I have not heard anything. this is all just in case.

I do not think you can just say, well, most mothers should be breastfeeding anyway. BF is not for every mother and not possible for all and even if it may be possible for most, significant numbers will want or need to top up with formula anyway. a baby cannot wait even hours never mind days for its food. And of the babies who are young now and dependent on formula, come March 2019 they will still be needing formula, given that it is needed for the first year of life if mum is not making a full supply of milk or is not bf'ing at all.

Babies in places like Syria and Yemen, who were dependent on infant formula, before conflict cut off supplies, are experiencing severe acute malnutrition. And these numbers are in the thousands at the least. Actually, even ones that were breastfed are experiencing the same as their mothers go through malnutrition as well and this impacts on the amount and nutritional adequacy of the milk they can make. It is no joke.

'I would like us to have over 90% breastfeeding rates and we hav a long way to go so if this helps - great.'

And I'd like 90% of us to bedshare. I mean who cares what individual mums want to do as long as they do what I want, right? Hopefully Brexit makes cots so unaffordable that families are forced to bedshare. Because I want them to.

I agree this is massively concerning. Infant mortality has already slightly risen in the UK, and we have to prepare for other obstacles to safe FF, such as power cuts interrupting the mains water supply, and probably other stuff I can't think of because I've never bottle fed.

Graphista even if I can pay, it may not be available at any price. And nobody seems to give a shit about that (or other things like essential medications, it's not like we can ration insulin). My point wasn't "I'll be ok because I can breastfeed or pay for formula" my point was, this is bad for many reasons and we need to plan for it!

Fair enough, apologies. Just seen too many posts on here from mners who are well enough off (both financially and in terms of being in good health) saying "I don't get what the problem is, so we have to pay a little extra" - well that's all well and good if you can AFFORD a little extra, many families are barely getting by as it is, but as you say their money will be no good if necessities simply aren't available - some just don't seem to 'get' that it really could get that bad!

If ff becomes too expensive people will just wean earlier or give watered down cows milk instead. When my DCs were born many people started their babies on solids by 3 or 4 months. My DCs are all healthy adults despite being bottle fed from birth and having solids from around 12 weeks.

Yes bluesmarties - but as with all health & safety guideline changes, just cos your kids were OK doesn't mean everyone's was or would be. My dd is 17, the guideline then was 12-16 weeks to start solids and yes she's been fine, but she has friends the same age who weren't, who have ongoing stomach health issues which may well be as a result of weaning earlier than is advised now.

Watering down leads to malnutrition, it's why it's drummed into us to be SO careful when making up formula with the right number of scoops to amount of water.

When it was less carefully taught babies & children DID die from malnutrition, kidney issues etc

Accessible, affordable formula saves the lives and health of huge numbers of children. Most women in the UK already initiate breastfeeding. The risk of non-availability of formula would only impact a proportion of the very small number of women who do not initiate breastfeeding. It would do nothing to change the fact that very many of these women and babies find that exclusive breastfeeding isn't working for them. Higher prices or inaccessible formula will not mean lots more breastfeeding. It will mean lots more babies are undernourished and starves, or fed less suitable alternatives. It means babies will go hungry and babies will die. Only a monster would see it as a cause for celebration. Any lactivists who think this is a good thing need to take a long hard look at themselves.

Imagine the fear and horror of a parent who cannot to afford to feed an infant. I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.

Formula is not a luxury. It is a lifesaver. Anything that restricts the availability and accessibility of formula risks killing babies. That sounds stark but it is true.

Has anyone looked at supply lines for all the paraphernalia that bottle feeders need?

And suppose you're a mother taking medication that passes into breast milk, so can't BF for health reasons?

So what is the solution to avoid this possibility? Stockpile formula as a priority?All I hear from people who think no deal is going to be fine and dandy is that we’re scaremongering, no actual proposals to avoid possible disasters such as babies going hungry. Or is regressing back to Victorian times just necessary for potential long term benefits? Maybe us lactators can hire ourselves out as wet nurses come March?

Maybe us lactators can hire ourselves out as wet nurses come March?

Actually not such a bad idea.

Now that Dominic Raab himself has admitted Brexit will require that the Government make sure that food supplies are adequate (and honestly, do you trust them to do that?) I'd be interested to hear if the posters who dismissed this thread as "scaremongering" a few days ago have changed their minds?

I'd be interested to hear if the posters who dismissed this thread as "scaremongering" a few days ago have changed their minds?

There’ll be a quantum switch between “hysterical scaremongering, everything is going to be fine” to “we always knew and voted for it to get bad” via “we voted for it to be wonderful but it is going to be bad because of bullying EU/ Remoaner traitors”.

Being a metastable quantum state, all three positions wil be simultaneously applicable.