A Look at Kenya’s Law Eliminating Harmful Practices in Marketing of Baby Bottles and Formula
Author: Lucy Kaigutha
In Kenya, a law that came into effect on May 30th targeting advertising for bottles, infant formula and pacifiers is another welcome step towards the elimination of harmful practices affecting children; which forms the the theme for the 2022 Day of the African Child, celebrated on June 16th. The Breast Milk Substitutes (Regulation and Control) Act, first passed by the Kenyan Parliament in 2012, is intended to further guide the appropriate marketing and distribution of breast milk substitutes, while promoting safe and adequate nutrition for infants through breastfeeding and proper use of breast-milk substitutes.
This act’s primary goal, despite initial fears stoked by inaccurate media reporting in Kenya, is to protect parents and caregivers against aggressive advertising on breast-feeding substitutes and misinformation given to parents. Breastfeeding is one of the most effective ways to ensure child health and survival. In fact, 90 percent of women can have enough breast milk for their babies with the right support and information. And if we were to encourage and scale up breastfeeding to near universal levels, it is estimated that about 820 000 children’s lives would be saved every year (WHO 2018).
Kenya, for its part, was the first government to vote in favour of the World Health Assembly Resolution adopting the International Code of Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes (the “WHO Code”) at the May 2nd 1981 Assembly meeting in Geneva. The adoption of the WHO Code was informed by the significant contribution of breastfeeding to combating infant malnutrition, morbidity, mortality, and the realisation that advertising and promotion of breast-milk substitutes undermine breastfeeding (MOH 2021).
How does this affect parents and caregivers in Kenya?
The law in effect, will translate most visibility into changes to the labelling that appears on baby bottles, infant formula and pacifiers, helping ensure that parents are well informed and sensitised on the importance of breastfeeding. It also means no entity will be allowed to advertise breastfeeding substitutes to parents.
This includes the issuing of free samples of bottles, pacifiers or teats. The law also makes clear that manufactures cannot give health care workers samples of breastfeeding supplements, that they would in turn give to nursing mothers. In addition, the law states that the packaging of formula has to contain information that breast milk offers the best nutrition for babies. Packaging cannot in any way insinuate that pacifiers or infant formulas are like the breast or breast milk.
In its totality, the law is a deliberate, practical and realistic initiative that encourages breastfeeding and that will ensure positive health outcomes for both the mother and baby. This law should be welcomed as it gives both parents and caregivers a chance to make informed decisions on feeding their infants. In addition, it creates an opportunity for society at large to become sensitised on the importance of breastfeeding; and how to fully support mothers to breastfeed successfully. The result will be more children’s lives saved and reduced infant mortality resulting from poor or under-nutrition.
Some fun facts about breastfeeding:
Breast milk is packed with immunity - White blood cells protect the body from illness and disease. Around week 16 of pregnancy, a mother begins to make colostrum, the earliest form of breast milk. It contains 1 to 5 million white blood cells per millilitre
The nutrition make up of breast milk is always fluctuating with the growth needs of the baby, giving babies the exact nutrients they need
Breast milk is a compelling blend of hormones. Here’s what we know about how some breast milk hormones influence the development of babies:
Melatonin – This changes throughout the day to help babies wake or sleep
Thyroxine – This increases over the first week to mature babies’ intestines and metabolism
Epidermal Growth Factor – Found in colostrum, this hormone helps develop babies’ GI tracts, and is also helpful for prematurely born babies
Leptin – Which is high for the first 180 days, controls weight and appetite, and influences healthy microbial flora
Endorphins – Diminishes pain in babies; no wonder ill or injured babies find mother’s milk comforting
4. Microbial composition of breastmilk changes from day to day:
A baby’s suckling at the breast produces a vacuum; the ensuing “baby spit backwash” sends messages to the mother’s mammary gland receptors. If a particular pathogen is recognised, the mother’s body begins to produce antibodies to fight it, which then travel back to the baby’s body. This explains why there can be a significant change in the colour of breast milk when a baby is sick. The mother’s body adjusts to provide milk that is closer to the nutrient-dense colostrum that the mother first produced in order to provide illness-fighting antibodies to the baby.
5. Flavours change and are stimulated by babies' palates:
Amazingly, babies can identify the unique scent of their mother’s milk — and prefer it. Mature human breast milk tastes “sweet and a little nutty, with an almost vanilla-like flavour.” Breast milk can taste saltier after having mastitis, during the last few months of pregnancy, or when milk consumption falls below a certain amount. This change in flavour may affect babies’ desires to wean (Kindred and Bravely 2021)
Breast milk is best for both and mother and baby and breastfeeding should be encouraged at all times.
Bottle feeding has great advantages as well:
It is painless, less demanding, and allows the baby to be fed by anybody. This means the entire family can join in the experience
Allows mothers to get sleep and rest more; while bottle fed babies usually sleep through the night also
There are numerous exceptional cases where infants will require to be bottle fed especially those born early or after the loss of a parent. Their care is of utmost importance and bottle feeding in these cases is imperative.
Lucy Kaigutha is the Founder at Toto Care Box Africa Trust,
Childbirth Educator & Doula