Formula milk companies are continuing to use aggressive, clandestine and often illegal methods to target mothers in the poorest parts of the world to encourage them to choose powdered milk over breastfeeding, a new investigation shows. Hospital staff were also found to be recommending specific formula brands in lists of “essential purchases” handed to new mothers. Targeted advertising on Facebook and partnerships with influential “mummy bloggers” means mothers are being exposed to more unregulated formula promotion than ever before. ‘Formula is expensive … I only gave her half bottles’Mothers living in the ramshackle neighbourhoods of Metro Manila spoke of spending three-quarters of their income on formula milk, often forgoing food themselves. ‘A clandestine approach’“The milk formula companies now take a clandestine approach,” said Dr Amado Parawan, who has spent 20 years working with Save the Children in the Philippines to champion breastfeeding.

Source: The Guardian February 27, 2018 00:01 UTC