Why are formula co’s allowed to get away with this? Do we have to have another boycott?

[Rumpledfaceskin]

Am I the only person who is increasingly angry about the way in which formula companies and those that sell formula conduct themselves? Yesterday I discovered a great charity called baby milk action and was horrified to read about how formula advertising in the U.K. is constantly breaking laws, then this

www.theguardian.com/business/2018/feb/01/nestle-under-fire-for-marketing-claims-on-baby-milk-formulas

Obviously I have a pro breastfeeding stance but however you chose to feed, most people surely agree that formula shouldn’t be advertised like this? Or as comparable to breastmilk, for hungry babies, and all the other shit they pull.

The British journal of midwifery practice awards this year has been sponsored by sma and nutricia. Totally appalling.

It's not crack. Get a grip. Why does it bother you how other women feed their babies?

Because babies who are the most vulnerable people on the planet are being fed substandard shit that could damage their Health depending on which part of the world they live in.

And considering many experts have likened sugar addiction to drugs and alcohol maybe it’s not that far away from crack.

Also women the world over are being flogged products that in the most part there is no need for and no scientific basis for.

I discovered Baby Milk Action 15 years ago and have boycotted Nestle ever since. Disgusting practices on Nestle's part that haven't changed in the last 30 years sadly. That was when I was a teenager and now as a new mum who has had to express breastmilk due to feeding difficulties I get even more annoyed with the pressure that's put on new mums to switch to formula the second breastfeeding doesn't work out- fine if it's a choice on the mum's part but I felt pressured to stop trying before I was ready... and I'm still not!

@43percentburn I must admit I had the opposite issue with breastfeeding, there was very much a drive for me to keep at it even though I was struggling massively. I wonder if it's because my issues weren't physical but mental. Anyone wanting formula was essentially handed it undercover and there was no marketing whatsoever just breastfeeding posters. I certainly continued longer than I should have to the detriment of my own health because I felt so pressured into it.

I think it should be standardised, i.e no adding random ingredients to try and appeal to certain populations in certain countries and definitely not using that as an advertising tool but I've no clue how you could legislate for that on a global scale.

@Rumpledfaceskin I'm pregnant again and this time am intending to FF from the start and I've been given multiple leaflets on breastfeeding and it's benefits in case "I change my mind" and yet nothing on how to correctly make up formula. If the NHS don't tell you and people are potentially uncomfortable with asking because of the perceived negativity then they will reach out to other sources like formula companies.

There’s nhs advice on making up formula online. I was given the healthy start booklet which I assumed was country wide that had information on how to safely prepare formula. I don’t blame women for phoning the helplines, but I certainly blame the companies for having them in the first place if they are just going to give out dangerous advice that could make a baby sick.

Yes no need for formula. Just let the little.blighters starve. That'll be far better for them.

JJPP there is no need for or science behind hungry baby milk, sleepy baby milk, happy baby milk and whatever other rubbish they market. It’s cynical marketing that plays on parents insecurities (and if I’m being harsh sometimes downright laziness, if you can’t face having sleepless nights for a while, don’t have a baby. That’s probably old news). Some of those milks have added ingredients that are not beneficial to babies, so why would they sell them?

In parts of the world where parents have no access to proper sanitation/sterilising equipment I would argue that there’s no place for formula, yes. Giving a baby formula from a filthy bottle that’s been made with filthy water is tantamount to a death scentence. If in the unlikely event a mother can’t breastfeed then the child should be wetnursed by someone else.

There is no need and no justification for adding different ingredients to infant formula depending on the market.

Oh your one of those? Laziness hey?

Here you go

Yep. Giving a baby milk with cereal in that’s not recommended and could be bad for their health because you don’t want to get up in the night counts as laziness in my book. You can have that right back. . Are you really suggesting that a mother with poor consumer choice and lack of healthcare and education should pursue formula feeding at any cost simply for the sake of it as it’s no one else’s business? Do you work for Nestle?

People don’t want to believe their susceptible to advertising. So they reject any idea that their choice to use formula (and not just formula but any specific brand) is guided by a corporations marketing department.

I live in Asia and they have ads here for follow on milk that show 3 year olds wearing academic cap and gown claiming to make them smarter. And surprise surprise you now have people who say formula makes infants smarter and healthier compared to breast milk. Even though the ads conform to the code by only showing older children.

I see women in MN saying formula and BM are equally good in developed countries with safe water. Even though not even 6 months ago there was a recall of infant formula due to contamination by the manufacturer that made children in several European countries ill.

It is dangerous to completely outsource infant nutrition to Nestle et al. They don’t have your baby’s best interest at heart. I really wish NHS and others would talk about mixed feeding at least so that more babies get some breast milk. Too many women don’t even give their babies colostrum.

they have ads here for follow on milk

And that is why follow on milk was invented want it, so they can advertise it? It’s a way of advertising their brand without contravening the rules on advertising infant formula. It is a completely unnecessary product which people are manipulated into buying.

Yes, follow on is an unnecessary product designed to circumvent the rules on advertising first stage formula. It's not an accident that the branding on the follow on is very, very similar to the infant milks. Lots of people don't realise advertising infant milk is banned because they're seeing the follow-on ads and making the connection.

There are SO many rules about what companies can and can't say and show in the ads and they are constantly flouting the rules. The rules say, for example, they can't use a baby under the age of 6 months in an ad for follow-on, so they choose a baby as young as possible and show the mother feeding a babe in arms, not an older child sitting. To make the connection with a newborn. Brands use scientifically meaningless or actively misleading phrases like "closer to breastmilk" and "helps growth and the immune system" until the ASA cracks down and bans them. All the free cuddly toys, "advice lines", mums clubs, pregnancy emails, sponsorship and in other countries the free samples and coupons is not something the companies are doing because they care about babies and their mothers. Their ONLY aim is to sell their product.

Yes of COURSE there should be independent and unbiased advice about making up formula and using it properly for mothers who are not breastfeeding. But that information should not be coming from a commercial organisation with an agenda to sell their product.

Health professionals are not allowed to recommend one formula as "best" as there isn't one - they are all much of a muchness and no one is "better" than another. One might agree more with your baby, but that's not the same thing.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=Pm1U9ZsiwR0

Yes soupdragon I believe it was, something I didn’t know or never really thought about until I read baby milk action. This Aptamil ad has to be the worst I’ve seen in th U.K. aside from the gender stereotypes, it’s the way they actually keep mentioning breastmilk that makes people think their on their side and have a baby’s best interest at heart. ‘Inspired by breastmilk research’ and ‘when you chose to move on from breastmilk’ yet it doesn’t specify that that would be at 6 months of age. So they’re totally flouting the WHO guidelines and the U.K. law. I dread to think what they get up to in countries without laws against it as they clearly can be trusted to self govern to WHO guidelines.

Free access to formula when ever you want it

God forbid! hmm]

So why are women so easily duped by unscrupulous formula companies who use dodgy ingredients? Could it be because the only education available to them is either about breastfeeding, or direct from formula companies themselves because hospitals refuse to even acknowledge the fact that most women go on to use formula at some point?

I don't want to defend Nestle, who have done disgusting things in the past. But there should be proper information available to mothers about all forms of infant feeding, so that we can genuinely make an informed choice about what we feed our babies.

I'm in my thirties, educated to postgrad level, have worked all over the world, and yet I was treated like a naughty child in hospital because I had made an informed decision to formula feed. Some of us do. It's not always a last resort, or because we fell for the marketing. I did my own research, but women like me deserve to be given objective advice about formula to support us in making the best decisions for myself and my family.

FartnissEverbeans why does the NHS have to teach you how to FF? It’s not a medical issue. If I bring my 9 month old in I don’t get a tutorial on how to blend veg and spoon it into the child’s mouth.

Are there other areas where you’d like the NHS to violate WHO guidelines, or only this one?

"And considering many experts have likened sugar addiction to drugs and alcohol maybe it’s not that far away from crack."

Get a grip .

@eeanne surely the NHS at some point of contact, be that midwives / health visitor or the maternity ward have a responsibility to ensure that when you go home, you can feed your baby?

If you're unable to breastfeed, you still need support. Many women who planned to breastfeed may not have done any prior research on FF and those early weeks are hardly the ideal time to start. Info on sterilising, feeding amounts and the like is important and should absolutely be provided by the NHS.

batfestival are you telling me the NHS refuses to show mothers who cannot BF how to make up formula? I don’t believe that. I mean, it’s on the bloody website! www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/making-up-infant-formula/

The suggestion I was responding to was that a mother CHOSE to FF and wants midwives, HVs etc to assist her in that choice. That’s not a medical issue and in all what they have to do in a day, showing a mother how to make a bottle when she had no medical reason for not BF doesn’t strike me as a priority.

The majority of British babies are FF so people are clearly capable of figuring it out. It’s apparently a hell of a lot easier than BF. But NHS is criticized for focusing on the challenging one that has proven health benefits! Give me a break.

I couldn't bf because I was poorly and my baby couldn't latch. Not sure what other option I had. I had a choice of formula in the shops but if they're all bad then what do you do? Couldn't let my baby starve.

FrozenMargarita17 you are exactly who formula is made for! Try to research which companies are smaller, and don’t have a history of corrupt practices.

FartnissEverbeans why does the NHS have to teach you how to FF? It’s not a medical issue. If I bring my 9 month old in I don’t get a tutorial on how to blend veg and spoon it into the child’s mouth.

Of course it's a medical issue. Incorrectly prepared formula can be very dangerous. And what, are you suggesting that bf is a medical issue?

I wish people would stop talking about the WHO guidelines as if they're some sort of holy grail of advice. They're not, and the WHO is regularly criticised. The guidance on ff specifically is aimed at the developing world where sterilisation, clean water etc. to safely prep formula is an issue.

They get away with a lot bit the UK too.
I think this video explains it well.
m.youtube.com/watch?v=9wRHoI1cMFM

And what, are you suggesting that bf is a medical issue?

Of course it is. It’s a biological process that causes physical change in the mother and can have serious complications like mastitis.

Yes incorrectly made formula can be dangerous. So can incorrectly installed car seats. Are HVs around the country teaching parents how to put them in safely? NHS only has so many resources.