Why does the APCLC/IBCLC adhere to the Marketing Code for Breastmilk Substitutes?

Adhering to the Breastmilk Substitute Marketing Code is a duty of all professionals who work with breastfeeding mothers and infants.

The abusive marketing that the artificial milk industry has done and continues to do has led to breastfeeding rates dropping to unthinkable levels that are against human nature, impacting the health of mothers, babies, and society in general.

Companies compete with each other and against breast milk, promising families things they cannot deliver and exploiting mothers’ vulnerability to make profits.

The same can be said about bottles, teats, and pacifiers that promise to be just like breasts and nipples and breastfeeding. This is simply misleading marketing. Sometimes, much less often than is actually the case, formula may be necessary.

No one is against artificial milk, bottles or teats, but we cannot collude with the industry and continue to allow misleading marketing to be seen as a form of health promotion.