I just learned of an article suggesting that the next generation of formula may contain components of human milk - or something designed to be like it:
Nestle has already signalled that it is investing in the next generation of infant and baby products: in December it announced that it has entered into an exclusive agreement with Danish biotech company for research and development into the use of human milk oligosaccharides (HMO) in infant nutrition products.
HMOs, found in human breast milk but not in cow's milk, are understood to help boost the body's natural defence and aid development.
There is a general trend towards fortification of infant nutrition with nutrients that are as close as possible to those found in breast milk. In particular, omega-3 is now frequently added to formulas.
Probiotics from human breast milk have been developed by Swedish company BioGaia and Spain's Puleva, and are already used in supplements and children's food products respectively.
They must not really be talking about putting a human milk component in formula. I really don't understand how this is would be possible - would mothers donate milk that would be pasteurized, dried, and then added to a cow's milk formula? And human milk contains around 130 different oligosaccharides, which vary depending on mother's blood type to provide tailored protection. The DHA and ARA containing formulas use plant additives, not a human milk component, so it sounds unlikely that they'd actually use human milk.
Now, I don't wish poor health on any baby. If breastfeeding is not possible or not chosen, and another mother's milk is not available, I would of course want a baby to have the best food nature and science can offer. If I were in such a situation I would want the best formula I could find for my baby.
But by making formula sound more and more like human milk, are the formula companies persuading more women who can breastfeed not to? Since the DHA/ARA formulas came out, my friends at WIC tell me that their clients have been asking for "the formula with breastmilk in it." And a recent study showed a dramatic increase - a near doubling - in the last few years in women who say that "infant formula is as good as breastmilk." What happens when the "formula that is even more like breastmilk" goes on the market? If formula sales go up and breastfeeding rates go down, are we, on the whole, better off?
I guess that this comes down to marketing. Yes, formula companies should try to make the best formula they can - and they should be required to prove that it does what they say it does. But they shouldn't be able to market it in such a way that it dissuades mothers from breastfeeding. There are such rules, the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Subsitutes, by the way, adopted by the World Health Organization in 1981, by a vote of 118 to 1 (the U.S. was the dissenting vote).
Finally, I just have to wonder what all that money going into this research could buy if it were instead put into breastfeeding promotion and support services for breastfeeding mothers. I mean, compared to those scientists, I'm really cheap. As a lactation consultant. You know what I mean.
Your thoughts and experiences? Don't be afraid to disagree with me!
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