The high price of infant formula makes parents feel “punished” if they don’t breastfeed, mums and dads have told the BBC.

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

Parenting site Mumsnet claims the rule has increased the price of formula rather than breastfeeding rates, while the competition watchdog recommended the ban on price promotions be canceled.

Clare Smyrell, who was unable to breastfeed for medical reasons, claims she spent £30 a week on milk for her baby and resorted to online markets to try to cut costs.

Her son is now eight months old and she is weaning him off formula, but Clare says she felt “like a failure” because she couldn’t breastfeed and then had to deal with the added cost of the purchase of formula milk.

“You have deals on unhealthy adult foods, but you can’t have deals on perfectly healthy infant formula. It seems a bit petty,” says Clare from Wolverhampton.

“It almost feels like those who don’t breastfeed are punished. »

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found that prices of infant formula in the UK jumped 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 Nestlé, which makes SMA and Kendamil – control more than 90% of the UK market.

“How much did it cost me?” »

Natasha Kurzeja, from London, says the cost of formula is “exorbitant”.

When Natasha’s 12-week-old son was born, he had to stay in hospital for a long time, which she said made breastfeeding unsustainable.

“It’s frustrating when you give up part of the formula because you wonder, ‘My God, how much did this cost me?'”

She agrees with Clare that she feels punished for not being able to breastfeed.

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

“For some of us, formula feeding is definitely not a choice, but even if it is, it’s better to feed, and mothers no longer need the shame.”

In his interim report on infant formulaThe CMA suggested better education about infant formula so that parents are not swayed into undue loyalty due to brand advertising.

He also suggested the government could buy baby formula from a third party to sell at a lower price under the NHS brand.

However, a former director of an infant formula manufacturer, who wished to remain anonymous, told the BBC that the introduction of an NHS branded product would create a “race to the bottom”, with companies reducing quality of their preparations to compete for the market. cheapest price.

He added that with any other product, supermarkets would be “playing hard on margins” with suppliers. But with baby milk, parents were extremely loyal to their favorite brand, so that if a supermarket demanded a price that was too low, a supplier would just buy the product elsewhere, he explained.

He also claimed that some baby milk products had different brands and prices, despite being made in the same factory with the same ingredients.

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

“The way this has been regulated, we fully understand that this is an effort to increase breastfeeding rates. But let’s be honest, it just didn’t work,” Justine Roberts said.

“The UK has one of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the world… and all it does is increase the cost of formula for some parents.”

“On the verge of discrimination”

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

“Getting enough breast milk for her was a real challenge. All he had to do was gain enough weight to stop using the hospital machines. So it was suggested to use formula,” he says.

Her partner took a hybrid approach using breast milk and formula, and eventually settled on just formula.

“Like many newborns, they had digestion issues affecting their bowel movements, so we were told to switch to a better baby formula – Cow & Gate Comfort, which is easier to digest.”

An 800g jar cost £14 and with two children to feed, James and his partner were consuming two and a half jars a week, spending well over £100 a month.

“I find the ban on price promotions completely disgusting and bordering on discrimination,” says James.

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

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

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

Rather, rather than not allowing promotions on infant formula, Nelson thinks parents should receive help covering the costs.

“With the price of everything else going up, I expected there would be help for essentials like baby milk,” he says.

Additional reporting by Bernadette McCague and Rozina Sini.