No More Baby Pictures: Sweden Proposes Law To Ban Formula Advertising, Coupons

Breastfeeding is a controversial topic in this day and age, and now Sweden is taking the controversy to a whole new level.

Sweden has now proposed a new law banning images of babies from packages of formula. The law would also require that formula products carry a warning label “stating that parents should not give their children formula milk unless they have been recommended to do so by a professional with appropriate training.” In addition, formula packaging would have to notify the consumer that breastfeeding is a better alternative to formula.

The Local states that, under the new law, formula companies would not be allowed to advertise their products anywhere other than medical journals. In addition, companies will not be able to promote their products with coupons or free samples.

According to a report in the journal Riksdag och Department, the Swedish Consumer Agency and the baby food industry have already agreed “not to actively market infant formula for 30 years.”

If the new law passes, it will come into effect on August 1, 2013.

The Ministry for Rural Affairs states that the new directive is purposed to ensure that parents receive accurate information before choosing whether or not to give their children formula. In other words, the ministry is concerned that parents will fall victim to advertising, grabbing that can of formula with the sweet little blue-eyed baby on the label, instead of researching other options.

Dianne Cox is a midwife with New Zealand’s South Canterbury Independent Midwives. She says things have changed in the last 30-plus years she’s been a midwife, and more women are becoming aware of the benefits of breastfeeding. Still, women often choose to formula feed, many claiming that it is not physically possible for them to breastfeed.

Cox, however, states that a mere 3 percent of women physically cannot breastfeed their babies. For many other mothers, the choice between formula and breastfeeding is just that — a choice.

The new Swedish law would mean that no more mothers would leave the hospital with their new baby in one arm and a goody bag filled with formula samples and coupons in the other.

Mother and writer Mary Fischer feels Sweden’s new law will just serve to make mothers feel guilty about not breastfeeding. She writes,

“Banning a baby’s image from a formula ad or package isn’t going to deter moms from making sure their child gets fed. If they want to promote breastfeeding and get more moms on board with it, they’re really going about it the wrong way. Making moms feel like bad parents if they don’t feed their babies the way the government wants them to isn’t going to accomplish a d*** thing.”

While Fischer believes that Sweden’s proposed law won’t make a difference in persuading mothers to breastfeed, experts assert that having formula on hand encourages breastfeeding mothers to switch to formula “when they’re exhausted or discouraged.”

The World Health Organization suggests that formula samples “turn hospitals into formula sales agents and imply that hospitals think formula is as healthy as breast-feeding.”

Megan Caron, 27, a nurse in Massachusetts, felt a formula sample influence her decision to stop nursing her daughter. “If it wasn’t there,” Caron notes, “I think I would have tried a little bit more to get breast-feeding down. And once they get formula, it’s hard to get them back.”

Some health experts claim that Sweden’s new law isn’t about whether or not breastfeeding is better than formula. Even formula companies know that breast milk is the best for babies. Christopher Perille, spokesman for Mead Johnson, which produces Enfamil formula, calls breast milk “the gold standard,” adding that it is “best for babies.” Sweden’s proposed law is not about which is best, but about helping parents make informed decisions, without the additional pressure of advertising.

Breastfeeding decreases babies’ risk of ear infections, diarrhea, asthma, and a a host of other diseases. It also may reduce the risk of obesity later in life, and some studies show that breastfed babies have higher IQs.

While breastfeeding can be a challenge, some experts believe that more women “could nurse longer with greater support, and that formula samples can weaken that support system.”

What do you think of Sweden’s proposed law?