Child health experts are trying to remind the public that breast is best when it comes to feeding babies. They are alarmed at the rising number of infants who they say are being fed special infant formulas instead of breast milk when there is no reason to feed this to most babies.
These special formulas are being marketed to mothers with labels such as “lactose-free” and “anti-reflux,” which seems to be convincing some parents that their perfectly normal infants need special “scientific” food to be healthy.
Quite the contrary, it turns out. These formulas are suspected to be causing unnatural obesity in babies and contributing to almost unbelievably early tooth decay. Experts say formula companies are “exploiting” parental fears to goad them into buying costly, unnecessary, and unhealthy substitutes for natural breast milk.
Recent reports say that nine of 10 babies fed these lactose-free formulas, for example, have no allergy to lactose to begin with. Only 1 in 100 babies are allergic to lactose, according to a study from Imperial College.
The director of the UK’s charity group First Step Nutrition was blunt. Dr. Vicky Sibson said companies are exploiting vulnerable parents who are being “ripped off” when they are only trying to do the best for their children. She says it is true that some infants who are not breast-fed will have conditions that require special formula supplements for medical reasons.
But, she countered, the companies are selling their products with marketing pitches that convince parents that normal, healthy babies need their formula. Parents are being deceived into believing that fussy or restless babies have some sort of medical problem that can be solved with scientific formulas.
Last month, Dr. Sibson contributed to an editorial in the scientific journal Clinical and Experimental Allergy that said the UK does not have strict enough rules about these baby foods. This is causing babies the world over to be fed unhealthy and unnecessary products that will actually harm their health.
Doctors in the U.S. are noticing similar disturbing trends, and they’re hoping to alert parents that they don’t need the latest new food trend, so-called “toddler formula.”
