Breast not best?

Aggressive advertising for infant formula may be responsible for a new low in the percentage of Chinese mothers who exclusively breastfeed. A report by the China's Consumer Association indicated that as much as 14 percent of new mothers in China do not breastfeed at all. The survey, conducted in 30 Chinese cities, found that almost a third of babies were fed a mixture of breast milk and infant formula, and these statistics were believed to be influenced by the insistent advertising of formula companies who claimed their product was highly beneficial to brain development in babies. As many as 57 percent of mothers were willing to buy formula based on that knowledge alone.

The Association's report also reveals that formula companies are pushing the boundaries of legal advertising. Chinese consumer protection regulations state that claiming or even hinting that formula could be an adequate replacement for breast milk is illegal, yet companies regularly flout these rules by creating furtive campaigns to lure parents, including giveaways, strategic product-placement and baby-health hotlines that support infant formula.

Recommendations from doctors are also thought to have contributed to the rise in China's formula use. Despite laws preventing the feeding of formula to babies in Chinese hospitals, the report also stated that up to 63 percent receive it anyway, and a doctor's recommendation is usually respected and followed by parents.