According to babybornfree, who recently sent Denise Van Outen bottles as a gift, some decisions are so simple…
…what decision would that be, then? The decision to bottle feed, of course. Easy!
Currently the international code of marketing of breastmilk substitutes does not fully recognise the marketing of bottle feeding products, something babybornfree are keen to exploit. This seems quite a big oversight, even considering how freely formula companies are flouting the code. But, the code is nearly 30 years old now and bottle feeding paraphernalia as an industry is far bigger than it once was and the code failed to envisage that the marketing and promotion of bottles would take off and is now little more than indirect marketing for formula.
Sure, bottles can be used in conjunction with breastfeeding but in the recent case of Denise Van Outen these “gifts” weren’t used in that way at all hence her no longer breastfeeding due to it being “too public“.
BPA free bottles, sold by babybornfree, are a fantastic thing, of course, however it should be the norm not a special feature of a product that has played a hand in the demise of breastfeeding. Babybornfree are engaging in unethical conduct by using celebrities to target the public by making their product seem more fashionable… unfortunately, their product is used primarily for formula feeding and, as such, the marketing of this product should not be permitted.
I, for one, would like to see the code updated to include modern marketing of breastmilk substitute products. If you feel the same, sign this petition: http://www.petitiononline.com/IC1U2010/petition.html which will be submitted to the World Health Organisation.
Elle
www.thebundlejungle.com
The newest Next catalogue contains a picture of a young baby drinking milk from a bottle at the start of their baby & toddler clothing section.
Why do companies not realise that promoting bottlefeeding in this way is wrong?
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This is interesting. I recently did a review of baby bornfree on my blog and they offered me bottles as a giveaway prize, but I declined and requested training cups instead. I do like their training cups – they’ve been really useful for us, especially since Kyra won’t drink from a bottle at all anymore. (We tried expressed milk bottle feeds, but it was more effort than it was worth with her!)
I like them, and I like their products, but I do agree – they should not be promoting bottle feeding in this way
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