There were all manner of products there to help parents detach from their children. One company were selling a bottle attachment which enables parents to leave their babies to feed themselves. There were plenty of cots and prams, play stations and electronic swinging neglecto-matics so that parents need never touch their children. Well, there is still the pesky business of nappy changes, but any year now there will be a stall featuring a product that changes nappies for parents and then, finally, we will have achieved the great Western dream: parenting without having to do anything remotely near a child!
Because nature intended for babies to feed upright and alone?
And look, it's been on the television show of a childfree woman! Quick mums, buy now!
(I've censored the product name in an attempt not to give them free advertising)While the ABA stall was situated right next to the feeding and change table area of the expo (meaning they got lots of traffic from parents looking to change a nappy or sit down to feed) they were in the furthermost corner, which received less light than most areas of the expo. Artificial milk pushing companies on the other hand had paid the big bucks for the most well lit stalls, taking up the most space, in central locations. One even featured a flat screen television showing a "documentary" (read "commercial") about how they came to add probiotics to their powder.
The grandfatherly figure who created this ground breaking milk powder (I write with sarcasm) stated in this commercial that it was his intention to recreate breast milk so that toddlers can continue to receive the great probiotics found in breast milk. The underlying message was clear: breast milk is for babies, not for toddlers! The commercial then cut to this man's adult granddaughter talking about the developing immune system, how frequently children get sick, and how grateful she is to have her grandfather's product to give the boost to her children's health that they so desperately need.
REALITY CHECK: Toddlers are meant to breastfeed! (
See here for more info on this) The
World Health Organisation recommends a minimum of 2 years breastfeeding! No artificial milk powder comes close to recreating the complex, living and changing milk created by human breasts. Toddlers who are fed artificial milk are not provided with additional immunity, they are denied the important immunological components of breast milk and for the rest of their lives are put at great disadvantage health wise, compared to people who were breastfed.
While this commercial (presented as if it were a documentary) was deceptive and unethical it did not provide me with the most jaw-dropping moment the expo had to offer. That came when I opened one of my showbags from another artificial milk company to find free samples of their powder, labelled "for children 1 to 10 years"!
In Australia it is against
The International Code of Marketing Breastmilk Substitutes for AM companies to advertise ABM (artificial baby milk). They are also forbidden to give away free samples of ABM. However, the code does not extend to artificial
toddler milk. The reason for this is that there was no such product prior to the code. AM companies created artificial toddler milk to fill the profit gap left when the code demanded less unethical marketing of ABM. Artificial toddler milk is marketed aggressively in Australia and AM companies take full advantage of events like the
Pregnancy, Babies and Children's Expo.
Since AM companies abide by the code their ability to profit depends upon their ability to successfully convince parents that there is a need for artificial milk beyond babyhood. They concede that breast milk is the best milk for the first 12 months of a child's life. But that's it. Celebrate your 1st birthday with a refreshing glass of artificial milk powder mixed with water. And in the case of the brand above, don't feel like you have to stop when your child outgrows the bottle, simply pour it into a glass!
At a first glance it might seem totally ludicrous that a parent feed their ten year old artificial "baby" milk, but it is not so far fetched. When you consider the stress parents endure when it comes to all manner of health and safety issues, especially healthy eating and the not uncommon tendency for children to be reluctant to eat a wide variety of healthy foods (or even just one vegetable), you can begin to understand the power of AM companies to step in and ease parent's troubled minds.
This particular brand of AM marketed to children from 1 to 10 uses reassuring language that appeals to parental sensibilities about health and well-being. Underneath the brand name the packet reads "Complete Balanced Nutrition". On the front of their pamphlets inside the showbag they feature: "Complete Nutrition. Complete Peace Of Mind", further reassuring parents. Other brands highlight the "bifidus", "iron" and "omega 3 DHA" in their products. One shows a cartoon teddy bear wearing a mortar board, pointing to text that reads "For Healthy Tummies: rich in zinc, iron and calcium, with Bifidus".
Another brands' free sample (this time for 1 to 3 year olds) boasts "Supporting your toddler's immune system". It's apparently been "caring for babies since" the 1800s, a bold line to take considering breasts have been caring for babies a lot longer! This particular brand also included four pamphlets about nutrition and parenting. Each pamphlet (except the one for "iron intake for infants and toddlers") features fine print about breastfeeding on the back:
"Breast milk is best for babies. Professional advice should be followed before using an infant formula. Introducing bottle feeding could negatively affect breast feeding. Good maternal nutrition is important for breast feeding and reversing a decision not to breast feed may be difficult. Infant formula should be used as directed. Proper use of an infant formula is important to the health of the infant. Social and financial implications should be considered when selecting a method of feeding"
The same disclaimer appears on the back of another brands' brochure, almost word for word. While this may seem like a step in the right direction take another look. Mention of "good maternal nutrition" hints that breastfeeding requires more work on the part of mums and involves a special diet that is not required if feeding your child artificial milk. Further to this the "breast is best" motto has been shown to be problematic. Lactation consultant Diane Wiessinger writes:
"When we (and the artificial milk manufacturers) say that breastfeeding is the best possible way to feed babies because it provides their ideal food, perfectly balanced for optimal infant nutrition, the logical response is, "So what?" Our own experience tells us that optimal is not necessary. Normal is fine, and implied in this language is the absolute normalcy--and thus safety and adequacy--of artificial feeding. The truth is, breastfeeding is nothing more than normal. Artificial feeding, which is neither the same nor superior, is therefore deficient, incomplete, and inferior. Those are difficult words, but they have an appropriate place in our vocabulary."
Breast isn't merely the better of feeding options, it is normal! Furthermore there should be no such "choice" when it comes to feeding, there is one normal way to feed a human child: at the breast and there is one inferior substitute for the extremely rare cases when there is no other way to keep a human baby alive. Much like there is one normal way of breathing: using your lungs and there is the option of oxygen tanks, masks and other respiratory aids in extenuating circumstances.
Returning to this particular brand of AM and it's promotion at the expo. This showbag also included a fridge magnet featuring a free helpline for "any questions" about "feeding young children". Calls are allegedly taken by their "healthcare professionals". Similarly yet another brand have a free "careline" for the same purpose.
Other freebies to be found in showbags from AM companies include: a colourful height chart to track childhood growth and a cookbook of recipes for foods for children "from 26 weeks" onwards. And balloons! Southbank was a sea of golden balloons featuring the logo and brand name of one brand of AM in particular. Once inside the exhibition centre there were even more balloons advertising more AM companies. This particular marketing strategy obviously involves using children: seduce the children with beautiful balloons and the parents take home and commit to memory (whether they realise it or not) the name and logo of that product. And if ever the time should come when that parent is faced with shelves of artificial milk cans, all the same shape and size, so many colours, so much information, sensory overload, the familiarity of that name and that logo gained from a balloon once upon a time will give that company the edge.
Clearly The International Code of Marketing Breastmilk Substitutes needs to be updated. Where once it was only infant breastfeeding in need of protection from the aggressive and unethical marketing of artificial substitutes. Now sustained/full-term breastfeeding needs desperate attention.
Promotion of any artificial milk, including for toddlers (and ten year olds!) undermines breastfeeding. It further normalises a culture of bottle feeding, therefore making breastfeeding "other". Marketing of artificial milk for toddlers suggests (or as was the case in the commercial showing on a flat screen at the expo, it outright states) that breastfeeding ends with babyhood, thus robbing toddlers of breastmilk which they need for healthy development (I have not even mentioned issues of bonding and psychological well-being in this article, which are also essential to consider in any discussion about childhood health!).
Perhaps the most insidious aspect of the marketing of artificial milk for toddlers is how it subversively promotes artificial milk for babies as well. Without explicitly doing so, by convincing parents that artificial milk is healthy enough for their toddlers instead of breastmilk it can lead to parents jumping to the conclusion that substituting breastmilk for babies before 1 year of age is not such a big deal either.
Ultimately parents are being swindled for millions, as are governments who pay the price* in the long term due to ongoing health problems that could have been prevented by breastfeeding (or by breastfeeding for longer). Worst of all, babies and children, who have no choice and no voice in these discussions, are robbed of their health when fed these inferior and almost always unnecessary artificial milk products. This needs to change! I for one am going to start lobbying for a stricter and more encompassing code on marketing artificial milk, for a start.
Breastfeeding 20 month old
See also: Breastfeeding Two Years & Beyond (lots of links on feeding toddlers and beyond)
Suck on This
Why is Artificial Milk so Bad
Natural Weaning
Artificial Feeding - Nothing To Do With Breastfeeding
Extended BreastfeedingNursing After The First YearSustained Breastfeeding 
***All brand names of artificial milk have been purposefully omitted from this article with a mind not to advertise on their behalf***
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