The economics of mothers' milk: Is there a level playing field? -
Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand, 5th Annual Congress, Canberra
Is it proper to look at breastfeeding in purely economic terms? Can we put a dollar value on mothers' milk? Could Australian mothers' milk become the target of a foreign multinational takeover?
These questions and many more are the subject of a paper - Mothers' Milk, Money and Markets - to be presented at the Perinatal Congress in Canberra this Thursday by Julie Smith, Senior Research Fellow with The Australia Institute.
Ms Smith says infant feeding is rarely considered as an economic issue, but many people would find the idea of placing a dollar value on mothers' milk quite obnoxious.
"Yet in a world where not valuing something in dollar terms means not valuing it at all, this can have major consequences for the 'market' for mothers' milk and for public health policy," Ms Smith says.
"The value of mothers' milk is significant to the national economy in dollar terms.
"However, it is largely invisible to - and therefore undervalued by - public policymakers and health professionals.
"Infant feeding decisions are unlikely to be based on full information.
"While the disadvantages of breastfeeding impinge mainly on the mother, the health savings from breastfeeding - or the health risks of artificial (commercial) feeding - impact directly on Government budgets and affect the wider community.
"Inadequate knowledge of the health risks of artificial feeding can allow the 'market' for mothers' milk to be spoiled or eroded by inferior commercial substitutes.
"A level playing field in the infant food market requires basing infant feeding decisions on informed choice.
"It also requires advocacy for breastfeeding, especially from healthcare professionals and other authorities on health, to counteract sophisticated marketing efforts of corporate 'market competitors' to mothers' milk - a formula to combat formula, if you like," Ms Smith says.
The Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand is an organisation of healthcare professionals dedicated to the care of mother and baby during pregnancy, birth and early childhood.