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Baby Dies Every 30 Seconds From Unsafe Bottle Feeding!
A Baby Dies Every 30 Seconds From Unsafe Bottle Feeding!
By IBFAN (The International Baby Food Action Network)  The photograph
tells the tragic story of the fatalities that occur due to unsafe bottle feeding. The babies are twins: the child with the bottle is a girl - she died the day after this photograph was taken - but her brother was breastfed and thrived.The mother was told that she would not have enough milk for both children, and so she breasted her son and bottle-fed her daughter. But she would almost certainly have been able to feed both her babies, since the more a baby suckles, the more milk is produced. Bottle feeding can kill Companies that make baby foods or bottles and teats are well aware that infants die from unsafe bottle feeding. However, they continue to put profits before health by encouraging mothers and health workers to use their milks and equipment. Others are left to count the cost. One and a half million lives could be saved every year by reversing the decline in breastfeeding, says the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). One needless infant death occurs every 30 seconds. Millions more babies become seriously ill and the cost of baby milks impoverishes people who are already poor, affecting whole families. How does bottle feeding kill babies? The water mixed with baby milk powder can be unsafe and it is often impossible in poor conditions to keep bottles and teats sterile. Bottle feeding under such circumstances can lead to infections causing diarrhoea, the biggest killer of children worldwide. Baby milk is also very expensive, often costing more than half the entire family income. This means that bottle feeding will contribute to family malnutrition. Furthermore, poor mothers trying to make the milk go further sometimes over dilute the powder, and the baby may not then receive the nutrition he or she needs. Bottle baby disease is the name given to the deadly combination of diarrhoea dehydration and malnutrition which is the result of unsafe bottle feeding. Breastfeeding: the best start in life Breastfeeding is free, safe and protects against infection. It is extremely rare for a woman to be physically unable to breastfeed. Breastfeeding reduces the risk of illness in all countries. Even in the UK, a bottle-fed baby is up to 10 times more likely to suffer gastro-intestinal illness than a breastfed one. Where water is unsafe, UNICEF says that babies are 25 times more likely to die if they are bottle fed. Breastfed babies need no other food or drink for about the first 6 months of life. They also have reduced risk of diabetes, pneumonia, ear infections, and some cancers. Studies show that women who breastfeed may have a lower risk of breast and ovarian cancers and that their babies are less likely to die of cot death. A mother has a right to independent information and freedom from pressure from companies. If she chooses to bottle feed she should be aware of the risks and costs. How companies get babies on the bottle To increase profits, baby milk companies have to persuade health workers and mothers to bottle feed. Their tactics range from advertising and misinformation to sending sales reps into hospitals to promote their milks to sponsoring health workers, conferences and even health facilities. The International Code The International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes was adopted by the World Health Assembly in 1981. The Assembly is the policy-setting body of the World Health Organization. The International Code aims to protect all mothers and babies from inappropriate company marketing practices. It bans all promotion of breastmilk substitutes, bottles and teats. It aims to ensure mothers receive accurate information from health workers. Subsequent Resolutions of the World Health Assembly have clarified and amplified the International Code. Baby food companies may not: Give free supplies of baby milk to hospitals; Promote their products to the public or health workers; Use baby pictures on their baby milk and bottle and teat labels; Give gifts to mothers or health workers; Give free samples to parents; Promote baby foods or drinks for babies under 6 months old; Labels must be in a language understood by the mother and must include a prominent health warning. The Code is intended as a minimum requirement for countries in both the North and the South. So what's happening now? Most baby food manufacturers are continuing their unethical promotional activities whilst claiming to abide by the International Code. They are increasingly "investing" in health workers and health care systems, spending more money promoting their products than most governments spend on health education. Companies know that if they persuade a health worker to recommend their milk, they have gained a lifetime's brand loyalty. This is much more cost effective than persuading mothers individually. Advertising in hospitals implies that the product is endorsed by the health service: coupled with misinformation, this has created the false impression amongst mothers and health workers that many women cannot breastfeed. Even more effective is the practice of giving free or substituted supplies of baby milk to hospitals and maternity wards. This encourages artificial infant feeding, which interferes with lactation. Once a mother leaves hospital formula is no longer free, the company has another captive customer, and the mother and baby are denied the best start in life.
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