Sunday August 6, 2006
Protecting breastfeeding
World Breastfeeding Week (August 1-7) kicked off this year with the theme Code Watch: 25 Years of Protecting Breastfeeding. TEE SHIAO EEK finds out what the Code is, and how it can help women to continue breastfeeding.
A FIRST-time mother delivers her baby boy in a private hospital in the Klang Valley. While she is still recovering from the effects of labour, the nurses whisk her baby off and, without her knowledge, feed him infant formula.
When the mother recovers, she has to ask for her baby to be placed in her room next to her bed, so that she can breastfeed him. She is worried that if the baby is out of her sight, he will be given infant formula again.
This is a true story, and a scenario that is probably being replicated in other private hospitals that are not baby-friendly (an initiative by hospitals to promote breastfeeding).
In Malaysia, only five out of 222 private hospitals and maternity centres in the country have implemented the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI), although government hospital fare better, with 114 having achieved baby-friendly status.
 |
Breastfeeding is the optimal way to nourish and nurture infants, but growing sales of infant formula and breastmilk substitutes may erode this practice. |
This is in violation of the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes, which is an international recommendation that has been adopted by some countries as national legislation, law or public health policy.
What is the Code?
“The International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes was adopted by the World Health Assembly in 1981, and aims to protect breastfeeding from unethical marketing practices by the baby food industry,” says Julianna Lim Abdullah, International World Breastfeeding Week Coordinator from the World Alliance of Breastfeeding Action.
The Code is a set of marketing rules designed to protect babies, parents or anyone caring for a baby, as well as health professionals.
The Code regulates the marketing of all breastmilk substitutes (not just infant formula) and infant feeding utensils.
“The main principle of the Code is that there should be no advertising or any other form of promotion of infant formulas, follow-on milks, feeding bottles or teats. Complementary foods, such as cereals and baby food in small jars, should not be promoted for use below the age of six months,” Julianna elaborates.
The Code also forbids promotional practices such as the giving of samples, posters, calendars and gifts to mothers, nurses and doctors.
“Promotional practices undermine breastfeeding through subtle marketing tricks and misinformation to mothers, health professionals and their families. Over many years, companies have invented clever slogans, striking images, free samples and supplies and all kinds of appealing gifts to persuade mothers and health workers that while ‘breast is best’, bottle-feeding is almost as good or even comparable to breastfeeding,” says Julianna.
In some cases, she laments, women, mothers, parents and communities are led to believe that formula is even better than breastmilk.
“The power of marketing is so strong that we have even received calls from mothers who want to know whether breastmilk contains DHA and ARA. Of course, breastmilk contains DHA and ARA,” she says.
The point she makes here is that commercial marketing has been so successful that consumers do not realise formula makers are actually trying to imitate the properties of breastmilk.
Breastfeeding proponents strongly believe that Code implementation can stop commercial interests from interfering with infant feeding practices.
Julianna emphasises that the Code does not forbid the sale of products, it only asks for a halt of product promotion so that families get objective information and can decide what’s best for their infants.
“Every child has the right to the highest attainable standard of health. Because artificial feeding is a risk, decisions about products and feeding methods must be scientific, and impartial, untainted by commercial interests,” she says.
Once the Code is complied with, it will make it easier for true messages about breastfeeding to be aired and understood.
“The Code is a tool, not an end in itself. When properly implemented, it is supposed to regulate marketing practices,” she explains.
In Malaysia, the Code is a voluntary agreement, not a law. “This means that companies have agreed to stop promotion, but if they don’t, they cannot be punished.”
25 years of the Code
The World Alliance of Breastfeeding Action (WABA) hopes to change this attitude of apathy among governments, companies and the public, by raising awareness of the Code through the theme Code Watch: 25 Years of Protecting Breastfeeding for this year’s World Breastfeeding Week (August1-7).
During this year’s celebration, a week-long worldwide Code monitoring exercise is being organised.
“What better way to link to this theme than to obtain a global picture of the commercial pressures put on women to bottle-feed instead of breastfeed?” Julianna points out.
As part of the monitoring exercise, members of the public are encouraged to visit supermarkets, pharmacies and their local health facilities, as well as to check magazines, print media, websites, TV and radio, to check whether these institutions are involved in practices that violate the Code.
“All you need to do is to take a picture of any promotional activity or advertisement that you spot, and fill in the special ‘Quick and Easy’ downloadable form available at www.worldbreastfeedingweek.org,” says Julianna.
Health authorities, professionals, administrators and consumers are also encouraged to be involved in training sessions and publicity activities that disseminate information about the Code.
All these serve to spread the word so that more people will be aware of the practices that are detrimental to breastfeeding.
“Raising Code awareness need not be confrontational. Many individuals flout the Code because they know nothing about it. They need education, not criticism,” WABA states in the World Breastfeeding Week 2006 Action Folder.
It’s about getting everyone to believe in the merits of breastfeeding so that mothers can get the support they need.
Related Stories:
Code Watch: what you can do
RSS
