MAKATI CITY, 4 May 2005 - An increasing number of Filipino mothers are using breastmilk substitutes because of the mistaken notion that these are good for their babies. United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) noted this after a hearing of the Senate Committee on Health chaired by Senator Pia Cayetano on the implementation of Executive Order (EO) 51 or the National Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes.

“Filipino parents buy breastmilk substitutes in all good faith, thinking that they are doing the best for their children,” Dr Nicholas Alipui, UNICEF Country Representative to the Philippines, said.

“This is the result of the massive penetration of marketing strategies to glorify and portray breastmilk substitutes to ordinary people as safe and reliable substitutes.” Dr Alipui added, “But in fact, they are bad and dangerous substitutes.”

Breastmilk substitutes are any food being marketed or represented as a partial or total replacement for breastmilk.

UNICEF cited the following dangers of breastmilk substitutes:

• Breastmilk substitutes cause deaths among children. In the first two months of life, an infant who receives infant formula is up to 25 times more likely to die from diarrhea and four times more likely to die from pneumonia than an exclusively breastfed baby. The World Health Organization estimates that 20 per cent of infant deaths in the Philippines can be traced to bottle-feeding.

• Infants who are formula-fed experience more severe respiratory tract illness and require more hospitalization than infants who are exclusively breastfed. Acute respiratory infections are among the leading causes of deaths among infants and children in the Philippines.

• Infant formula is sometimes intrinsically contaminated or becomes contaminated during preparation, leading to illnesses and deaths. Specific brands of infant formula have been recalled from the market due to contamination with enterobacter sakazaii, salmonella, and other bacteria. Contamination can also take place when feeding bottles, artificial nipples and water are not properly sterilized during milk preparation.

• Other dangers. The use of infant formula has also been linked to a host of other diseases and disadvantages, such as: asthma; allergies; lower IQ and cognitive skills; childhood cancers; Type 1 diabetes (during childhood and later in life); cardiovascular disease; obesity; gastrointestinal infections; ear infections; and, exposure to environmental contaminants (whereas breastmilk counteracts the adverse effects of pollutants).

In contrast, advertisements and other marketing materials for breastmilk substitutes tout these as being nutritious and even producing child prodigies – a violation of the National Breastmilk Code.

The Code, enacted by then President Corazon Aquino in 1986, prohibits the idealization and glorification of breastmilk substitutes in marketing campaigns.

It also bans point-of-sale advertising, giving of samples, and other promotions directly to consumers, health institutions, and personnel in the health care system.

“Our recent survey among urban mothers in the National Capital Region showed that milk companies, with their slick advertising campaigns, have penetrated the minds of young mothers, leading them to think that it is safe and even desirable to give their babies these milk formulas,” Dr Alipui added.

The survey of 120 mothers in Manila, Pasay and Quezon City showed that mothers were influenced more by television ads and the lofty claims of milk companies rather than by affordability.

Alipui said, “Worse, these ads have undermined the mothers’ confidence in being able to provide their babies with the perfect food that is also a medicine, immunity booster, IQ enhancer, environment-friendly and most of all, free.”