What is your milk worth?

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What is your milk worth?

• Mike Bradys Presentation
• to La Leche League Ireland 7 March 2010
• Campaigns and Networking Coordinator
• Baby Milk Action
• This title slide must be shown if using this
  presentation
• Baby Milk Action is the UK member of the
• International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN)
• Consisting of over 200 groups in more than 100
  countries.

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The short answer
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Whats your milk worth?
130 / litre Price paid by neonatal units in
the UK to cover milk bank processing costs A
litre goes a long way.
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Normal new-born stomach sizes
22 30 ml
44 60 ml
Source LLLI
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Chester milk banking conference
5th May 2010 Conference Donor Breast Milk in
the Care of the Neonate www.chestermilkbank.org.u
k
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The International Code

• The aim of the International Code of Marketing
  of Breastmilk Substitutes is to
• contribute to the provision of safe and
  adequate nutrition for infants, by the protection
  and promotion of breast-feeding and by ensuring
  the proper use of breastmilk substitutes, when
  these are necessary, on the basis of adequate
  information and through appropriate marketing and
  distribution.

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Baby Feeding Law Group
association of breastfeeding mothers,?association
for improvements in the maternity
services,?association of radical midwives, ?baby
milk action, (secretariat)?best
beginnings,?breastfeeding community,
?breastfeeding network, ?community practitioners
and health visitors association, ?food
commission,?lactation consultants of great
britain, ?la leche league (gb),?little
angels,?midwives information and resource
service, ?national childbirth trust, ?royal
college of midwives,?royal college of nursing,
?royal college of paediatrics and child health,
?the baby café, ?uk association for milk
banking,?unicef uk baby friendly
initiative,?unison,?women's environmental network.
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Savings to UK health service from breastfeeding
Implementing the Baby Friendly Initiative cost
benefits. National Institute of Clinical
Excellence (NICE) analysis The evaluation
assumes that a 10 improvement in initiation
rates is a realistic target. On the basis of
medical literature we assume that an increase in
the number of babies that breastfeed will lead to
a reduction in healthcare expenditure because of
avoided cases of otitis media, gastroenteritis
and asthma. On the basis of an annual birth rate
of 605,634 a 10 improvement in breastfeeding
would mean that 60,563 additional babies would be
breastfed.
Postnatal care routine postnatal care of women
and their babies. Costing report Implementing
NICE guidance in England. London National
Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence
2006. pp 36. www.nice.org.uk/page.aspx?o345136
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Savings to UK health service from breastfeeding
10 improvement in breastfeeding initiation
rates. NICE analysis about 17,000 cases of
otitis media avoided at a saving of 509,000.
almost 3900 cases of gastroenteritis being
avoided, at a saving of 2.6 million over 1500
cases of asthma being avoided, at a saving of
2.6 million. a reduction in the cost of teats
and formula of 102,000 Total 5.8 million per
year for 3 illnesses
Postnatal care routine postnatal care of women
and their babies. Costing report Implementing
NICE guidance in England. London National
Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence
2006. pp 36. www.nice.org.uk/page.aspx?o345136
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Breastfeeding saves the US welfare scheme
Compared with formula-feeding, breastfeeding each
infant enrolled in WIC saved US478 (350) in WIC
costs and Medicaid expenditures (the US welfare
schemes) during the first 6 months of the
infants life.
Montgomery DL, Splett PL. Economic benefit of
breast-feeding infants enrolled in WIC. J Am
Diet Assoc 1997 Apr97(4)379-85
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Savings from reduced illness, including NEC
The US study found a minimum of 3.6 billion
would be saved if breastfeeding was increased
from current levels (64 percent in-hospital, 29
percent at 6 months) to those recommended by the
U.S. Surgeon General (75 and 50 percent), for
each year at the higher rate. Pro rata to the
population of Ireland, this equates to 40
million per year of improved breastfeeding.
Figure based on treatment of only three
childhood illnesses otitis media,
gastroenteritis, and necrotizing enterocolitis.
This does not count the savings of the cost of
formula. It does include the loss of earnings
of the 720 babies who were estimated to die each
year in the US from Necrotizing Enterocolitis who
would not have died if breastfed.
Weimer. The economic benefits of breastfeeding A
review and analysis, Food Assistance Nutrition
Research Report No. 13. Wash.D.C., USDA, 2001.
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Environmental impact
We recommended the government commission research
on environmental impacts of babies not being
breastfed our figures are out of date. There is
no food more locally produced and unprocessed
than breastmilk. For formula we need to
consider Methane from cows is a greenhouse
gas. Transport and processing impact.
Resources used for packaging 86,000 tons of tin
plate would be used each year if every US baby
was formula fed, with 550 million discarded tins
(1991 figures). In 1987, 4.5 million feeding
bottles were sold in Pakistan alone. A
formula-fed 3-month old baby requires a litre of
water a day for preparing formula and the
equivalent of 73 kg of firewood per year,
contributing to deforestation in poor countries.
Radford, A. Breastmilk A world resource. Baby
Milk Action, Cambridge, 1991.
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Baby Feeding Law Group monitoring project
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Bombard mothers - direct mail
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Company claims about LCPs do not stand up
Longchain polyunsaturated fatty acid
supplementation in infants born at term It has
been suggested that low levels of long chain
polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) found in
formula milk may contribute to lower IQ levels
and vision skills in term infants. Some milk
formulas with added LCPUFA are commercially
available. This review found that feeding term
infants with milk formula enriched with LCPUFA
had no proven benefit regarding vision, cognition
or physical growth.
Simmer K, Patole S, Rao SC. Longchain
polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation in
infants born at term. Cochrane Database of
Systematic Reviews 2008, Issue 1. Art. No.
CD000376. DOI 10.1002/14651858.CD000376.pub2.
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Mothers are misled
Myths stop women giving babies the best start in
life Department of Health survey, May
2004 Myth Over a third (34) of women believe
that modern infant formula milks are very similar
or the same as breast milk Fact Infant formula
milk does not contain the antibodies, living
cells, enzymes or hormones present in breastmilk.
Breastmilk is designed for each individual baby
and changes over time whereas infant formula milk
is designed for every baby.
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1.3 million deaths in 42 countries
Use my picture if it will help," said this mother
at the Children's Hospital, Islamabad, Pakistan.
Photo UNICEF.
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Whats milk worth in a developing country?
Improving breastfeeding rates in the 42 countries
where most under-5 deaths occur, could save 1.3
million under-5s every year.
(How many child deaths can we prevent this year?
Lancet, Vol 362, July 5, 2003)
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Whats milk worth in a developing country?
Improving breastfeeding rates in the 42 countries
where most under-5 deaths occur, could prevent
13 of those under-5 deaths. Thats more than
would be saved by universal provision of safe
water and sanitation (3) universal provision
of HIB, Tetanus and Measles vaccines (4, 2,
1). (Combined total 10) Appropriate
introduction of complementary foods could save a
further 6.
(How many child deaths can we prevent this year?
Lancet, Vol 362, July 5, 2003)
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Whats milk worth in a developing country?
The World Bank has estimated that meeting the
health Millenium Development Goals of providing
universal access to safe water and sanitation by
2015 at 22 billion per year. Improved
breastfeeding could prevent over 4 times as many
deaths. Where is the money and support for
breastfeeding?
The Costs of Attaining the Millennium Development
Goals, World Bank, accessed March 2010,
www.worldbank.org/html/extdr/mdgassessment.pdf
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Whats your milk worth?
The retail value of the global baby food market
in 2008 according to analysts Euromonitor was
23 billion. Two-thirds of this is formula,
15.3 billion. We could reduce this by the
formula that is needed for medical reasons, to
say 15 billion for feeding babies who could
have been breastfed.
Global Packaged Food Market Opportunities
for Baby Food to 2013, Euromonitor, 2009,
euromonitor.com
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Whats your milk worth to baby food companies?
The industry is fighting a rearguard
action against regulation on a country-by-country
basis,  Government Regulation a Growing
Constraint. There are significant
international variations in the regulations
governing the marketing of milk formula, which
are reflected in sales differences
across countries.
Global Packaged Food Market Opportunities
for Baby Food to 2013, Euromonitor, 2009,
euromonitor.com
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Defending breastfeeding in the Philippines
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Defending breastfeeding in the Philippines
Breastmilk is best but Nestogen contains
Brain Building Blocks These are the LCPs
remember, there is no evidence that adding them
to formula benefits babies.
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Defending breastfeeding in the Philippines
August 2006 ICDC at What next forum organises
a letter of support after finding the US Chamber
of Commerce is lobbying the President of the
Philippines to strike down the milk code
regulations (known as the RIRR). September 2006
Philippines groups Arugaan and Piglas ng
Kababaihan called for mothers to attend a mass
demonstration on 1 September 2006. Over a
thousand turned out with decorated
umbrellas. Then the rest of the world got
involved.
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Defending breastfeeding in the Philippines
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Defending breastfeeding in the Philippines
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Defending breastfeeding in the Philippines
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Defending breastfeeding in the Philippines
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Defending breastfeeding in the Philippines
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Defending breastfeeding in the Philippines
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Defending breastfeeding in the Philippines
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Defending breastfeeding in the Philippines
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Defending breastfeeding in the Philippines
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Defending breastfeeding in the Philippines
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Victory in the Philippines
Supreme Court rejects the petition against the
Regulations on 9 October 2007. We are delighted
that amidst the many challenges in the past two
years to find resolve on this matter, the DOH,
along with local and international breastfeeding
advocates, like UNICEF Philippines, Save the
Babies Coalition led by Arugaan (a Filipino NGO),
the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action
(WABA), IBFAN Network, Baby Milk Action UK, La
Leche League, and many others remained faithful
in their role to protect Philippine childrens
health and welfare. WHO Philippines (Nestlé
tried to have the heads of UNICEF and WHO
Philippines removed for supporting the campaign)
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Whats your milk worth?
Is it worth Sending a complaint to the
ASA? Contacting you elected representatives?
Sending advertisements and other promotions to
La Leche League Ireland? Re-starting a Baby
Milk Action group in Ireland (contact Baby Milk
Action if you are interested info_at_babymilkaction.o
rg)?
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Whats breastmilk worth?
Is it worth Supporting the boycott of Nestlé,
the worst of the companies? Writing to Nestlé
calling on it to end its latest marketing
practice telling mothers its formula protects
babies? (Campaigning works Nestlé refused to
translate this label in Malawi, Africa, till our
campaign shamed them on UK television).
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The challenge
Ireland is in the unenviable position of having
the lowest breastfeeding rates in Europe and this
has been the situation for at least two
generations. Currently only about 40 of new
mothers in Ireland initiate breastfeeding and
many of these cease doing do so before their
infants are four months old. Fallon M,
Breastfeeding in Ireland, Department of Health
and Children, Accessed March 2010,
www.equality.ie/index.asp?docID586
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The hope
La Leche League Ireland exists. You have come to
the Conference. You know what your milk is
worth!!
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We can help
www.babymilkaction.org Coming soon, online
training on monitoring the International Code and
Resolutions