Science / Medicine : Free Baby Formula Denounced

A United Nations conference to promote breast-feeding denounced last week the practice of distributing baby formula free to new mothers, particularly those in developing nations. The conference urged closer regulation of the marketing of baby formula to encourage breast-feeding, which is considered a key to lowering infant mortality. Doctors said even mothers who have tested positive for the AIDS virus should breast-feed.

Mother’s milk helps boost a baby’s immunity and eliminates the need to use possibly contaminated water to prepare formula or other food. U.N. officials estimate that four million to five million children worldwide could be saved each year if they had been breast-fed.

Formula-manufacturing companies often provide baby formula free to new mothers in poor countries who are capable of breast-feeding. After beginning to bottle-feed her child in the hospital or clinic, the mother continues to do so after going home but often does not have the money to buy the proper formula.

Such marketing violates a code adopted by the World Health Organization in 1979. U.N. officials say only a few countries adhere to the code. The Nestle Co., which owns the formula-manufacturing Carnation Co., has been the target of a U.S. consumer boycott for a decade because of its marketing of infant formulas in developing nations.