Re: Support for breastfeeding is an environmental imperative
The Baby Feeding Law Group UK would like to commend Joffe and her colleagues for their insightful article highlighting the environmental costs of breastmilk substitute manufacture, and providing yet another reason for an urgent increase in investment in support for breastfeeding in the UK. As the authors stress, the vast majority of new mothers want to breastfeed their babies, but many do not manage to do so for as long as they had hoped. No matter where they live in the UK, all mothers need to be able to access timely and skilled breastfeeding support from specialist/lead midwives or health visitors, and from trained peer supporters with accredited qualifications.
However, alongside a step change in the breastfeeding support available to mums there remains a legal blind spot that urgently needs addressing. UK regulations governing the marketing of infant formula and follow on formula are weak and poorly enforced. There are no regulations at all for the unnecessary ‘growing up’ and toddler milks marketed for children over 12 months old. The regulatory environment means that inappropriate marketing of breastmilk substitutes are commonplace, commercialising infant feeding, misleading parents and undermining their ability to make informed decisions on how they feed their babies, ultimately undermining breastfeeding.
Better protection of breastfeeding is also an environmental imperative. To achieve this the government and policy makers need to implement and enforce current marketing laws that protect infant and young child feeding, but also to strengthen these laws in line with the more comprehensive ‘International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes’, which includes all subsequent World Health Assembly Resolutions. More information is available here: www.bflg-uk.org
Competing interests:
No competing interests
03 October 2019
Victoria L Sibson
Public Health Nutritionist
Baby Feeding Law Group UK and First Steps Nutrition Trust
Studio 3.04, Food Exchange, New Covent Garden Market, Vauxhall, London, SW8 5EL
Rapid Response:
Re: Support for breastfeeding is an environmental imperative
The Baby Feeding Law Group UK would like to commend Joffe and her colleagues for their insightful article highlighting the environmental costs of breastmilk substitute manufacture, and providing yet another reason for an urgent increase in investment in support for breastfeeding in the UK. As the authors stress, the vast majority of new mothers want to breastfeed their babies, but many do not manage to do so for as long as they had hoped. No matter where they live in the UK, all mothers need to be able to access timely and skilled breastfeeding support from specialist/lead midwives or health visitors, and from trained peer supporters with accredited qualifications.
However, alongside a step change in the breastfeeding support available to mums there remains a legal blind spot that urgently needs addressing. UK regulations governing the marketing of infant formula and follow on formula are weak and poorly enforced. There are no regulations at all for the unnecessary ‘growing up’ and toddler milks marketed for children over 12 months old. The regulatory environment means that inappropriate marketing of breastmilk substitutes are commonplace, commercialising infant feeding, misleading parents and undermining their ability to make informed decisions on how they feed their babies, ultimately undermining breastfeeding.
Better protection of breastfeeding is also an environmental imperative. To achieve this the government and policy makers need to implement and enforce current marketing laws that protect infant and young child feeding, but also to strengthen these laws in line with the more comprehensive ‘International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes’, which includes all subsequent World Health Assembly Resolutions. More information is available here: www.bflg-uk.org
Competing interests: No competing interests