"I want the formula with breastmilk in it."

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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Comments

[Stephanie (Adventures in Babywearing)]

Oh, I do not disagree. I know women can donate breastmilk to breastmilk banks and such to help babies in need, but I am not so sure anyone willing to donate their breastmilk would do it so that it could be made into formula! I can say this doesn't surprise me, but I agree with you and wish that more effort would be put into promoting breastfeeding altogether!!

[Angela]

I totally agree. I think it's a little like the debate whether we should invest more money in building prisons or in education and children's programs (to keep kids out of trouble and make them employable). It would be so much better to invest time and money on the front end with breastfeeding education and support rather than spending money to beef up formula.

[Tanya Lieberman]

I don't know why I feel the need to say this again, but I do: I really do hope that formula gets better and better. I have friends who, despite real committment and good support, just couldn't make breastfeeding (or working and breastfeeding) work, and I want their babies to have the best food available. I also wish that formula and formula marketing were better regulated so that my friends could be confident about their choices, and that fewer women were dissuaded from breastfeeding. I also wish that there were more safe ways for women to donate milk to mothers who can't breastfeed. That's my wish list, I guess.

[Beth]

I totally agree, Tanya! It amazes me that the formula companies here in the US are allowed to market their products the way that they do. It's disheartening to think that so many mothers think they are choosing a feeding method that is the same as breastfeeding! We (breastfeeding advocates) will never have the financial means nor political clout to sway policy as much as the formula companies. I fantasize about how much good could come of using even a fraction of formula marketing budgets for breastfeeding promotion!
I also agree that there needs to be better regulation of formula production for the families that need it. I'll add a wish to your wish list: that the US would truly value 'family values' and guarantee more paid parental leave - another way to promote & protect breastfeeding!

[Tanya Lieberman]

Yep - that'd definitely be on my wish list!

[Jillah]

After reading Tanya's blog I had this vision of women lined up hooked up to industrial pumping machines, like a factory dairy barn! I know it sounds awful but people do a lot of things I would never do for money. People have been paid for giving blood, and other body parts, women's eggs, sperm, I mean who's to say they (formula companies) wouldn't be able to persuade women to sell them their breast milk? Seems a bit far fetched I know. I can't believe some people really believe there is formula out there with actual breast milk in it!