To think formula feeding parents are bent over a barrel?

[inpixiehollow]

Just been discussing this with a friend and interested to know peoples thoughts.
Am I being unreasonable to think that the NHS/govt should manufacture a nutritionally complete formula for babies, sold at cost price to families? Not disputing the importance of real access to proper breastfeeding support but we have to acknowledge that some women cannot/don't want to breastfeed and instead are victim to formula companies turning over huge profits. If people want fancy formulas/special additives then the option should be there but with rising cost of living I don't think its acceptable that something so necessary for many babies is getting to the point of unaffordable.
I am a massive advocate for breastfeeding so please don't take this as an attack or downplaying the massive lack of help for bf in the UK, I just wish both options were made more accessible for whatever feeding choices people make.

You have a child. You need to feed that child. You buy food from the supermarket for that child, just as you do for your other children and yourselves. None of that food is sold at cost price, it's all for profit.

I don't see the issue. You have a free option but choose not to use it (far, far too many women claim they 'can't' breastfeed for whatever reason, it's simply not true. If they don't want to, that's up to them, but mothers in countries without readily available access to formula and clean water manage to feed their babies successfully because they have no other choice).

I couldn’t breastfeed, physically I could but mentally I couldn’t, so probably wouldn’t show in the stats you quoted. Breastfeeding isn’t an option for lots of women for many reasons, lots of times it isn’t a choice.

You don't believe employers should support women in their choices to breastfeed? Equality laws do state otherwise. Its unfortunate to me that breastfeeding women aren't better protected in the workplace.

I wouldn't trust this government to do it.

im not sure the formula companies would make formula if it didn’t involve them making a profit. Why would they?

Saying that, I don’t agree that formula should be subsidised. You look at the costs, all costs, before having a child. Formula is £12ish per box which lasts 1.5 to 2 weeks so £24- £36 per month. If you decide to have a child but can’t afford that, which is less than food for a toddler age would be, then really you can’t afford to have a child because feeding them is the very basic of needs that you have to meet as a parent. If you can’t afford formula how are you going to afford 3 meals per day plus snacks for a hungry growing child?

I breastfed but your point makes total sense to me, OP

In this theoretical scenario they can still make their formula and have it on the shelves to make a profit, just that there would be a cost price option too for those that aren't interested in fancy branding.

It's not the government's job to pay for things that are the choice of the parent.

The treasury is not endless.
There are much more important things for the treasury to be spending money on than formulated modified cow's milk.

They are essentially all one and the same. The composition of infant first milk in the UK is amongst the most tightly regulated in the world.

My point is that there are already cheaper, own-brand infant formulas available and relatively few parents choose to buy them. I think you'd find that very very few parents would choose your NHS formula and you would indeed have to remove commercially branded first milk from the shelves if you wanted parents to take up the generic formula in any numbers.

100%
Also would go as far as free tbh - what would be so wrong about a society that ensures babies are fed without stigma and assessments? Can think of worse things the govt spends money on.... Subsidising fossil fuels.... Bailing out bankers.... Slave trade debts....

What does that ‘support’ look like though? Should a theatre nurse walk out halfway through an operation because her baby needs to be fed? Should a teacher leave their class of kids? Should a woman working in a nursery plonk herself down, breastfeed and leave her charges to run riot without her? How do you make it work? I’m genuinely interested.

As PP said healthy start vouchers are available for low income families www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/free-milk-fruit-vegetables-and-vitamins

The Govt wouldn't be paying.. they just wouldn't be making a profit.

I genuinely think that if formula was sold at cost or given away "free" or on prescription for all who want it, it would mean that breastfeeding rates would be even lower than they already are!

Exactly! At least for low income families. It’s the same premise as free school meals isn’t it?

Anything the "NHS" would produce would be low-quality basic trash. If you can't breastfeed for whatever reason, and money is an issue, you would be better off eating cheap nasty shit yourself then use the money saved to buy better quality formula for your baby.

This practice already exists, in the form of Healthy Start vouchers.

Free!! 😂

People should bring children into the world knowing the costs it involves. The government subsidises too much imo. they already give child benefit to those eligible.

It’s a crazy logic! bf doesn’t come with a financial price but it doesn’t mean the gov should subsidise feeding alternatives.

I agrée that bf is free, and I also agree that ff shouldn’t be as expensive as it is.

Supporting bf is great, but we don’t seem to have that. We seem to have little support for bf mothers but just vilifying ff. That’s does t help anyone.

I unfortunately had to FF my son due to inverted nipples/milk never coming in. Not my choice at all and I was absolutely gutted, but happy to have to then buy my own formula. I wouldn't have expected to get it for free just because my own body let me and my baby down

I also strongly disagree that the govt subsidises too much at the moment - the children didn’t choose to be here, or their circumstances.

I didn't say free formula provided by the government. I said formula manufactured by and then sold to parents for a cost price, removing massive profits most companies get to make on something essential for some families.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but did these companies not spend funds on research and development to produce these formula milks? If they didn’t, would formula milk exist? And if the government was to go into the (not-for-profit) formula milk business, wouldn’t it have to spend a large amount of money at the outset to develop the formula? These things are not quite as simple as you make out. And while I can understand wanting to help low-income families where the mother has medical issues that preclude breastfeeding, I think people should otherwise pay for formula if that’s their choice.

I don't think they'd change at all. I feel like those who want to breastfeed would continue to breastfeed and those that didn't, still wouldn't.