Combating Pervasive and Misleading Formula Marketing Practices Is All of Our Responsibility.

Abstract

Breastfeeding MedicineVol. 17, No. 6 President's CornerFree AccessCombating Pervasive and Misleading Formula Marketing Practices Is All of Our ResponsibilityAnn KellamsAnn Kellams—Ann Kellams, MD, IBCLC, FAAP, FABM, President, Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine Search for more papers by this authorPublished Online:8 Jun 2022https://doi.org/10.1089/bfm.2022.29210.alkAboutSectionsPDF/EPUB Permissions & CitationsPermissionsDownload CitationsTrack CitationsAdd to favorites Back To Publication ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail This month, I would like to call your attention to a ground-breaking report that was recently released by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF, entitled “How the Marketing of Formula Milk Influences Our Decisions on Infant Feeding.”1The report highlights the findings of an international research study performed by an independent research firm, M&C Saatchi World Services. Data was collected from eight countries, including China, Mexico, South Africa, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain, with >8,500 pregnant women, mothers, and 300 health care professionals surveyed. Additionally, over 100 focus groups and 80 in-depth interviews were conducted. Although marketing is a pervasive part of all of our lives, the report calls out the fact that the marketing of formula can impact feeding decisions that can have tremendous individual and public health consequences. Deciding how to feed an infant should be based on sound evidence and information, ideally obtained from health professionals, and not influenced by commercial interests.Here is a summary of several key findings with quotes directly from the report: 1.Marketing of formula is “pervasive, personalized, and powerful.”2.These companies use “manipulative marketing tactics that exploit parents' anxieties and aspirations.”3.Formula marketing “distort[s] science and medicine” making “false and incomplete scientific claims” to sell their product(s)4.These companies target health professionals5.Strategies used “undermine parents' confidence” in breastfeeding; messages are “slick and misleading”6.Immediate counter-measures at the level of governments, health professionals, and associations.For those of us in breastfeeding medicine, many of these findings may not come as a surprise. We are used to “swimming upstream,” and advocating for the rights and support of breastfeeding families.A number of action items are highlighted, including one that is specifically relevant to the mission of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine (ABM): “Protect the integrity of science and medicine.” The ABM lists “Knowledge and Research” as one or our key domains. We strive to promote, distill, and disseminate evidence-based research that improves clinical care and is globally accessible. As members of ABM, we have a responsibility to find ways to spread the word about the importance of breastfeeding, the best ways to support breastfeeding families, and how to appropriately manage breastfeeding concerns.We need to find ways to “actively counter” misleading and inaccurate commercially driven information. We need to normalize breastfeeding, not because it is “best” but because it is the physiological norm against which all other substances must be compared.As health care professionals, we also need to commit to divesting from formula companies in the name of public health. At ABM, we are very proud to not accept sponsorship from companies that are not WHO code compliant. Does this mean our membership and our conferences are more expensive? It does. We feel strongly that we all need to stop using our time and effort to provide these corporations with “cheap advertising.” When they sponsor our events, or we wear their lanyards, or recommend nonmedical use of their products, we both knowingly and unknowingly endorse their product.Health care professionals have a strong influence on families' practices and attitudes toward infant feeding. These companies profit when breastfeeding fails, and we must preserve the integrity of our role of trusted health experts, not tarnish it. We must use our influence to make sure all families have the most up-to-date accurate information about infant feeding so they can make the best decision for themselves, and then, we must do everything in our power to help remove obstacles and manage any concerns that arise so that as many infants as possible are able to breastfeed.Reference1. World Health Organization. How the marketing of formula milk influences our decisions on infant feeding. Available at https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240044609 (accessed April 29, 2022). Google ScholarFiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 17Issue 6Jun 2022 InformationCopyright 2022, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishersTo cite this article:Ann Kellams.Combating Pervasive and Misleading Formula Marketing Practices Is All of Our Responsibility.Breastfeeding Medicine.Jun 2022.550-550.http://doi.org/10.1089/bfm.2022.29210.alkPublished in Volume: 17 Issue 6: June 8, 2022Online Ahead of Print:May 25, 2022PDF download