WUNRN
INDONESIA - BREASTFEEDING PROMOTION INCLUDES
REGULATIONS TO TARGET FORMULA COMPANIES
Photo: UNICEF
The Indonesian government is trying to encourage more widespread
breastfeeding.
GENTENG PARAKAN, 16 September 2011 (IRIN) - For Naslima, a
mother of two in the fishing
"It's better to breastfeed than to give formula. Babies that breastfeed
are healthy," Naslima, who like many Indonesians goes by only one name,
told IRIN, outside a local health centre in
Indeed, Naslima's two daughters, now seven and 12, were rarely sick with
diarrhoea and had a healthy weight, testament to the well-documented benefits
of breast-milk.
But Naslima is also an exception in
Only 14 percent of Indonesian babies are exclusively breastfed, according to
the Indonesian Demographic and Health Survey from 2002 and 2003. A more recent
survey conducted by the Health Ministry showed rates of breastfeeding dropping
by 10 percent between 2007 and 2008.
In fact, in larger urban areas where Indonesian women have higher levels of
disposable income or are working, an increasing number favour formula over breastfeeding.
"When they see the ads on TV that say formula A has DHA and vitamins,
mothers think it is better," Elin Liani, a midwife said, referring to
docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an omega-3 fatty acid, which occurs naturally in
breast-milk and is considered important for brain and eye development.
In a bid to reduce the influence of formula companies on women, and more
importantly, reduce the high levels of infant and child mortality and
malnutrition,
Although a law promoting exclusive breastfeeding has been in place since 2009,
it lacks any penalties for violations. The new regulations will lay out exactly
what those penalties will be and require employers to allow mothers regular
breastfeeding breaks.
Moreover, it penalizes anyone who "intentionally hampers exclusive
breastfeeding" with jail terms of up to one year or maximum fines of
US$32,000, Iip Syaiful, a nutrition expert from the Ministry of Health, said.
The fines and punishments, which could come into effect as early as the end of
September, are currently under review by the Justice and Human Rights Ministry.
The government estimates some 30,000 young children could be saved if their
mothers exclusively breastfed them for six months, then continued breastfeeding
with supplemental foods until the age of two.
Studies suggest wider promotion of exclusive breastfeeding could prevent 1.4
million child deaths under the age of five, as well as improve child nutrition,
a 2008 Lancet report said.
According to the UN Children's Fund
(UNICEF), 37 percent of Indonesian children suffer from moderate stunting,
which delays a child's mental and physical development and makes children more
susceptible to other diseases.
Formula companies adjust
But according to infant formula company SGM - part of the French
food conglomerate Danone and one of Indonesia's largest sellers of infant and
toddler milk and foods - the new regulations will not affect its marketing
strategy, as it has already modified its TV advertisements to only feature
babies older than one. "We've been doing this for quite some time, only
advertising our growing-up milk, which is for babies one year and above,"
Arif Mujahidin, communications manager for SGM, maintained.
Over the past three years, sales of infant formula have dropped in
In 2010,
Questions of influence
But despite the 2009 law banning health professionals from
promoting formula and handing out formula to new mothers, the practice remains
rife, breastfeeding activists say.
"In the hospitals they give the women formula straight away if they have
any problems at all breastfeeding. I never hear them tell women in the first
three days, 'don't worry if your milk hasn't come in, it will'," Eka
Yuliana, a community breast-feeding promoter with Bumi Sehat, a Bali NGO,
said, referring to the small amounts of breast milk women typically produce
just after birth.
"If doctors would support breastfeeding 100 percent, that would be
better," Yuliana added. She believes doctors have been unduly influenced
by the formula companies' marketing as well.
The Health Ministry admitted many health workers had "not received the
knowledge about the importance of exclusive breastfeeding".