‘Baby milk prices punish those who don’t breastfeed’

The high price of baby formula makes parents feel “punished” for not breastfeeding, mums and dads have told the BBC.

The cost of baby milk has risen in recent years, while retailers in the UK are not allowed to advertise or offer discounts on baby formula because it could discourage breastfeeding.

Parenting site Mumsnet said the rules had raised formula prices more than breastfeeding rates, while the competition watchdog suggested the ban on price promotion is cancelled.

Clare Smyrell, who cannot breastfeed for medical reasons, said she spends £30 a week on milk for her baby and uses an online marketplace to keep costs down.

Her son is now eight months old and she has been weaning him from formula but Clare said she felt “like a failure” because she could not breastfeed and then had to cope with the extra cost of buying formula milk.

“You have a deal on adult food that’s not healthy, but you can’t have a deal on baby formula that’s really healthy. It’s a bit small,” says Clare from Wolverhampton.

“It’s almost like not breastfeeding is being punished.”

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found formula prices in the UK rose by between 18% and 36%, depending on the brand, in the two years between December 2021 and December 2023.

Just three companies – Danone, which makes Aptamil and Cow & Gate, and Nestle, which makes SMA, and Kendamil – control 90% of the UK market.

Natasha Kurzeja from London said the cost of formula was “extortionate”.

When Natasha’s 12-week-old son was born, she needed a hospital stay, which, she says, made breastfeeding impossible.

“It’s frustrating when you drop some formulas because you think, ‘Oh my gosh, how much am I worth?'”

She agrees with Clare about feeling punished for not being able to breastfeed.

“For babies under 12 months, you don’t have to pay for the prescription because of the medicine they need. So if I have to give formula milk, why do we have to pay through the nose?

“For some of us, formula milk is definitely not an option, but even so, food is the best, and moms don’t need to be ashamed anymore.”

In its interim report to infant formulaThe CMA recommends better education about formula so that parents are not influenced by unreasonable loyalty due to advertising by brands.

It also suggested the government could buy formula from third parties to sell at a lower price under the NHS brand.

However, a former director of a baby formula factory, who wished to remain anonymous, told the BBC that the introduction of NHS-branded products would create a “race to the bottom”, with companies lowering formula quality to compete for the lowest prices.

He said that with other products, the supermarket would “roll the ball by the margin” with suppliers. But with baby milk, parents have a strong loyalty to their preferred brand, so if supermarkets demand low prices, suppliers will simply carry the product elsewhere, he said.

They also claim that some baby milk products are branded and priced differently even though they are made in the same factory with the same ingredients.

Meanwhile, the boss of parenting site Mumsnet said the government was treating baby milk like cigarettes, with restrictions on advertising.

“The way it’s organized, we know it’s an effort to increase breastfeeding rates. But, let’s be honest, it doesn’t work,” Justine Roberts said.

“The UK has some of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the world … and all it’s doing is raising the cost of formula for some parents.”

James Gilmartin from Manchester has nine-month-old twins, one of whom was born with fluid in his lungs.

“Breastfeeding enough for him is quite a challenge. It should be enough to gain enough weight to remove the hospital machine, so we recommend using formula,” he said.

Her partner took a hybrid approach using breast milk and formula, and ended up using only formula.

“Like many newborns, they have digestive issues that affect their bowel movements, so we were told to find a better baby formula – Cow & Gate Comfort which is easier to digest.”

An 800g bathtub costs £14 and with two children to feed, James and his friends go through two and a half tubs a week, spending more than £100 a month.

“I find the ban on price promotions absolutely disgusting and non-discriminatory,” James said.

Nelson Dean from London was also surprised by the high price of the formula.

Their son was born in September and was fed a mixture of formula and breast milk.

Family friends recommended Kendamil, which costs £15 a tin and lasts about a week for our son.

If anything, instead of not allowing promotions on formula, Nelson thinks parents should be given help with the cost.

“With the price of everything going up, I expect there will be help for essentials like baby milk,” he said.

Additional reporting by Bernadette McCague and Rozina Sini.