To be outraged at this price increase?

[Pinkcat231]

I was reading an article the other day about baby formula prices and how families struggle to afford it then today I have noticed several shops have increased the price of all the Aptamil products.

I assume other brands will follow and it just seems outrageous with the current crisis and so many people getting less or no pay.

A lot of companies seem to be cashing in on the fact supplies are running low of certain items so AIBU to think Aptamil have jumped on that bandwagon or is this an innocent, albeit poorly timed, price increase in line with inflation?

You don’t need a good quality diet to breastfeed. Obviously it’s better for the mum if she does, but it’s not necessary and won’t cause any harm (apart from the general risks of having a shit diet).

DappledThings - perhaps you had a very nutrtious diet before hand so needed to make no changes - its quite unusual to not need a little bit more food though. The tax payer pays for vitamin droos they arent literally free - just free to the user.
I had to increase my calories or i didnt produce milk.
I was just making the point that it not completely free to everyone.

I thought it was given on prescription if it was necessary for health reasons?

So surely it is a choice otherwise?

Formula companies went into hospitals in Africa in the 80s with ‘milk nurses’ promoters and influenced women to switch from breastfeeding to formula with free samples and telling them it was better for them.

The result their milk dried up and babies died because formula needs safe drinking water. The idea that even 30 years later Nestle won’t try and make a profit is laughable, their also busy buying up natural water springs and trying to get water removed as a basic human right.

I can't believe that people are trying to argue that breastfeeding is as expensive as formula.

You MIGHT need a couple of new bras, but most mums I know just carried on using the non-underwired bras they used in pregnancy. Or bras they already had. No need to buy special tops either. Diet doesn't have to be special, or organic, and if your baby needs vitamins those are free.

I breastfed three children, the only things I had to buy were breast pads for the early days which weren't expensive. I also had a couple of plastic breast shells for leaks (about £5 for two). The rest of the stuff like pumps, bottles, storage bags is all optional.

If you're formula feeding it's not just the cost of the actual milk at a tenner a tin, it's the steriliser, bottles, teats. It's LOADS more expensive.

That's partly why the industry spends SO much on marketing, hook you in with a mums' club or soft toy, get you start using the brand then you are a loyal customer for a year. Because they also peddle the myth that you can't swtich from brand to brand, and once you've started using formula, relactaction is very hard without a lot of effort and professional support.

Formula companies went into hospitals in Africa in the 80s with ‘milk nurses’ promoters and influenced women to switch from breastfeeding to formula with free samples and telling them it was better for them.

Plenty of evidence that these tactics are still widespread, which is why the Nestle boycott is still very much a thing.

Once you’ve exclusively formula fed for a few weeks you can’t breast feed

This isn't strictly true. I managed to relactate after 2 months exclusively formula feeding. It was hard work pumping to establish supply, but I did do it.

Im not arguing its as expensive. Its not free.
I breastfed two children successfully. I get fed up with people saying its free as if mothers who had to pick formula because there babies would have died without it are also stupid with their finances.

If you're tight, breastfeed. Lazy? Breastfeed.

That's the sort of level of persuasion that worked for me

WRT the OP, I'm not surprised at a price increase when profits are at stake.

So surely it is a choice otherwise?

I think that’s very debatable. Lots and lots of issues to unpick, as we know.

I wonder if the problem of being unable to afford safe feeding is more prevalent in the U.K. (I don’t know about other counties) as it’s women who a least able to afford the extra household cost of formula who are most Likely to formula feed. For some reason in the U.K, whether we like it or not, breastfeeding is almost exclusively a middle class pursuit.

In uk low income families get healthy start vouchers to pay for milk so if you need a food bank you should qualify for it really

Coop near us were selling individual branded bottles of formula for 24p yesterday. We are very titson when it comes to baby feeding up here though, with our older mum and neo hippie demographic.

So surely it is a choice otherwise?

Breastfeeding is great if you have support to do so. Mine liked to cluster feed in an evening for 2-3 hours (but would sleep well afterwards!) which was fine with my first, but by the time my second came along I needed my DH around to help with DC1 who has additional needs. Shift work and/or working away would have really hindered those first few months. I also had family support.

I can probably think of other 'obstacles' that real life can throw at you that mean that someone may 'choose' to FF rather than BF.

Even leaving aside medical reasons why someone can't BF, the concept of a 'choice' isn't the same for all women - some have more choice than others.

For some reason in the U.K, whether we like it or not, breastfeeding is almost exclusively a middle class pursuit

It's not just breastfeeding, there are quite a few things that are the cheap way of doing things, that are what most people do the world over, but in the UK are seen as aspirational middle class pursuits out of range of people who are not so privileged. Eg cooking from scratch using pulses, spices and seasonal vegetables, hoummus consumption, foraging for berries etc, buying second hand or mending things.

Nah hoummus is common now isn't it?!

I agree with you though. I notice that most of the things on that list are things that involve time.

I'm currently furloughed and I'm spending more time hiding in the kitchen from the kids cooking from scratch and growing veg. But I'd still have more money working and buying a jar than not working and cooking from scratch.

Read a report the other day that said prices have NOT generally gone up during the crisis, apart from fresh vegetables and toys. Initially there was a spike in hand sanitiser and painkillers as they were so difficult to obtain.
What I really don't understand is why the cost of PETROl goes DOWN during low demand? Surely when they are selling more, they make more profit so can afford to reduce their profit margin then? There's only so much fuel you need so it's not like the low prices are an incentive to stock up, is it?

Most prices of gone up, olive oil is very pricy now .

Brexit

“What I really don't understand is why the cost of PETROl goes DOWN during low demand?“

Google law of supply and demand.

You don't see anything else out in nature going out and buying formula for it's offspring..

You also don't see anything else in nature with the same infant survival rate as humans.

There was a point when the oil price went negative because they couldn't give it away and it's not easy to stop and start the refining process at short notice and stocks were starting to pile up.

They literally had to pay customers to take it away from them, because the middlemen were not buying fuel because demand from retail customers had plummetted.

But there's a floor in the retail price, because a fixed amount is tax.

@Crosswordocelot yup, we use Aldi own brand but Sainsbury's make one too. It's £6.69 a tin. I think give saved a fortune over the last 6 months.

@Crosswordocelotyup, we use Aldi own brand but Sainsbury's make one too. It's £6.69 a tin. I think give saved a fortune over the last 6 months.

Ah ok, I'm sure they didnt exist 10 years ago as I'm an own brand fan for most things and think i would have bought if they were available!

You don't see anything else out in nature going out and buying formula for it's offspring.

We arent comparable to other mammals though - most can walk unaided within the first few days or weeks of life, and are fully grown or fend for themselves within a year.... many catch and eat other animals, they dont cook food before eating it etc etc....

Yabu , it’s not just formula, every thing is more expensive now and it’s just inline with that .
The supply chain doesn’t seem to be as good with less workers etc so it’s bound to have an effect on prices