Formula milk should come with health warning, says charity

Save the Children wants health warnings to cover a third of the packaging of formula milk Manufacturers of formula milk for babies are targeting mothers and health professionals in developing countries with free gifts and samples, according to a report by a leading children’s charity. Save the Children has claimed that marketing campaigns in the UK as well as East Asia and the Pacific, are often promoting false nutritional benefits of formula over breast milk with no scientific basis.
In a bid to stop mothers falsely believing that formula milk is the best way to feed their baby, the charity is now urging breast milk substitute companies to increase health warnings that formula is inferior to breast milk, to cover a third of its packaging.
At present, formula milks in the UK have to carry the message "breastfeeding is best," but the notice is usually the size of two postage stamps, often hidden among information about ingredients.
"It's about having a standard measure of packaging information which says that breastfeeding is the most effective way of protecting the health of the child. We have lots of examples of formula products where the information is illegible or very small," said Brendan Cox, the director of policy at Save the Children.
The Superfood for Babies report, also points out that feeding children colostrum - the mother's first milk - within an hour of birth, will kickstart the child's immune system, making them three times more likely to survive. As a result, breastfeeding could save 830,000 lives a year in countries like Ethiopia and Nigeria, which have the highest rates of child mortality, according to Save the Children.
The charity found that although there has been significant progress in encouraging breastfeeding in countries like Sri Lanka and Ghana, more needs to be done to tackle a global decline in the practice.
"Despite the benefits of breastfeeding being widely known in the developed world, and it being a free, natural way to protect a newborn baby, too little attention is being paid to help mums breastfeed in poorer countries," said Justin Forsyth, chief executive of Save the Children.