‘My milk dried up’: Assistant minister says mums who formula feed need support

Women who are unable to breastfeed are not always given adequate information about infant formula or receive the support they need, says Assistant Health Minister Ged Kearney.

She said while it was important to continue to promote the message that breastfeeding gave babies the best start in life, it was not easy or manageable for everyone.

Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care Ged Kearney says mothers who formula feed need more support.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Kearney wants to ensure families who use infant formula can access support in hospitals and community settings and says the government will tackle concerns around unnecessary milk powder drinks being marketed at toddlers.

The federal health department has asked the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to extend controversial marketing guidelines on infant formula for three years, despite an independent review last year finding they were no longer fit for purpose.

The current Marketing in Australia of Infant Formula agreement – which ends in August – prohibits promoting and advertising baby formulas and bans using samples and gifts that promote breast-milk substitutes.

However, it is voluntary and regulated by industry and covers only infant formulas to 12 months of age. This enables products such as toddler milks – which doctors say are unnecessary and potentially unhealthy – to be promoted.

Several peak health and medical bodies have called for the guidelines to be scrapped, amid concerns the marketing and promotion of toddler milk is being used as a proxy for infant formula advertising.

They want Australia to adopt a mandatory marketing code that mirrors the World Health Organisation’s code, which extends to 36 months and classifies toddler milk as a breast-milk substitute.

“The Australian Medical Association does not support resources being directed to the modification, extension or strengthening of the Marketing in Australia of Infant Formula agreement,” said Australian Medical Association president Steve Robson.

But Kearney said the request for an extension did not mean the government had given up on reform.

“I’m just really asking for time for us to have a really holistic approach to this,” she said.

Kearney said the health department would review retailer marketing activities for infant formula and ask the Food Regulatory System to consider additional regulation for toddler milks.

“The message I’m giving to mums out there is that our request to the ACCC is not us giving up. I want to have a really good look at what levers we can pull at a federal level to make a difference in this space.”

The assistant health minister was concerned to hear from women who opted to use formula who said they did not feel they were getting enough information about the substance from hospitals.

Shortly after she gave birth to her third child, Kearney contracted salmonella and had to formula feed for a period. “My milk dried up, and it was really horrible. I was vomiting and had diarrhoea for a month or so,” Kearney said.

Jayne Le Dan says she struggled to access advice about formula feeding when she was unable to breastfeed.

“Mums who feed their babies formula also need good-quality information, whether it’s about sterilisation of bottles or how to use formula when out and about. We need to make sure women get the right advice wherever they are – in hospitals, community settings, or anywhere across the health system.”

Mother Jayne Le Dan said she desperately tried to breastfeed but was forced to move to formula after four months of mixed feeding due to a lack of supply.

“The attitude toward formula and education needs to change,” she said in a submission to the review of the Marketing in Australia of Infant Formula agreement.

“I was using a formula that ended up not being the best option for my baby, but I didn’t know how to get advice to change. My lactation consultant through private care didn’t help me; the Child and Family Health Service public nurses also made me feel awful about this.”

Doctors say toddler milk is unnecessary and potentially unhealthy.Credit: Getty Images

Le Dan said the current approach to messaging only added undue stress and guilt to an already fragile parent.

Robson, the AMA president, said efforts should be made to ensure that parents who were unable or chose not to breastfeed could still access appropriate support and information to allow them to effectively feed their infant.

“Medical practitioners can be an appropriate source of reassurance and support through this period of feeding pattern uncertainty, if informed regularly on the current options for breast-milk substitutes, and how they can be used appropriately,” he said.

“Consideration for health professionals must be made in any regulation-strengthening relating to the marketing of infant formula.”

Kearney said she was also troubled that unnecessary and expensive toddler milk powders were being marketed as a natural flow-on from infant formula.

“The toddler milk industry is giving the message out to mums that if you are not giving your child toddler formula, you are doing them an injustice,” she said.

“Australian families expect that anything being marketed to infants or toddlers should meet the absolute highest standards and with health claims that are accurate and appropriate.”

Infant Nutrition Council chief executive Jonathan Chew said toddler milk drinks were scientifically researched and formulated to supplement the nutritional needs of young children aged one to three years.

The council, which represents the major manufacturers and marketers of infant formula and toddler milk drinks in Australia and New Zealand, has applied to the ACCC to have the current agreement extended by five years.

“The Infant Nutrition Council believes the existing agreement is working well in its current form,” Chew said

“Our members support its aim to protect and promote breastfeeding, while ensuring the proper use of infant formula, when necessary, on the basis of adequate information to allow parents to make informed choices as per their individual needs.”

The ACCC’s draft decision is due by October.

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