This is absolutely true - however, I think it's still important that all mums know their options and bf rates in the UK are really really low (for lots of reasons like lack of support/ lack of education/ lack of resources / lack of peer support) so I think the reason they are careful to advertise in this way is to try and increase bf rates because it is more beneficial to baby where its possible. That's just a fact. Saying that fed is best can actually be really detrimental to women who try really hard and struggle massively to bf and are continously told they're mad for not just giving formula, fed is best etc or for young women like myself who don't have any family members who breastfed through choice. I felt incredibly uncomfortable bf to begin with because i didn't know anyone else who'd done it.
Of course fed is better than starvation but where both are an option, then bf is proven to be better than formula for the child, that's just fact. And while I fully accept that for some women bf isn't possible or they just genuinely don't want to do it which is their choice, I do think there are more women out there who could do it but who aren't supported properly to do it. So they think it's just meant to be extremely painful, or that they're not producing enough when baby cluster feeds or weight drops, never mind the constant night waking and demand on the mother to fulfil all feeding needs. Or like me who are told in the hospital that baby couldn't latch and needed formula. I had to figure out his latch alone, in a hospital who have a lactation consultant on site who should have seen me.
Aside from that formula companies fund a huge amount of research into infant feeding and can fund a huge amount of advertising etc and that gives them the monopoly in that respect because bf is free excluding pumping equipment etc. So there's no income generating funding from bf mothers that's protecting womens right to balanced and informative education around infant feeding. So that's why they are careful about how formula is advertised.
And why saying fed is best is actually quite harmful in terms of the bigger picture because there's much more exposure to formula especially in this country, than to breastfeeding. And due to the lack of funding it means that there's really valuable research into bf that struggles to get off the ground. It's a huge discrepancy that limits womens access to fair and truthful information.
The problem really is the massive amount of pressure etc we put on women to make it work in adverse and unsupportive circumstances that leaves women who want to and are unable to bf with huge amounts of grief and misplaced guilt. Noone should feel badly about giving their baby formula if that's what they need to do. But they should be given all the info so they firstly know if they want to try, and secondly so they can get proper support if challenges arise and thirdly so they can make an informed decision regardless of what that decision is. I really think if instead of pushing fed is best, leave formula companies alone we were arguing for better resourcing for womens lactation services we'd see an increase in the number of women who are successful in breastfeeding. And I think we would also be able to be more accepting of the different ways in which women breastfeed such as combi feeding or expressing and women would be better equipped to decide what suits their family. I've learnt a massive amount from bf but there was noone coming to tell me that info, I had to go away and find it myself and I had my entire family pressuring me (even now 6mths later when I finally feel like things are going OK) to switch to formula. I mention my child hasn't slept great- it's my fault for not giving him formula. His weight gain slowed (due to tt) - I'm mad for not putting him on formula. I can't do kit days at work because I've nowhere to pump- I should be putting him on formula.
The pressure absolutely goes both ways and there's no win for women there.