Breast milk is still better

Aflao, May 11, GNA - Mrs Goski Alabi, Regulatory Officer of Food and Drugs Board said the marketing approach to the Pre-NAN baby formula was in conformity with the country's breastfeeding promotion regulations but all the same breast milk is superior.

That product was spotted by a team of exclusive breastfeeding monitors in a shop at Aflao during a recent survey. Discussing the product with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) with the UNICEF team Mrs Alabi said baby formulae product should not bear any graphic representation.

Mrs Alabi who is a member of UNICEF team on the promotion of exclusive breastfeeding said the campaign for exclusive breastfeeding of zero to six months old babies was not to suggest that baby formulae should not be sold in the country but that their marketing should conform to standard requirements, which make breastfeeding the first choice of mothers because of its superior qualities. She said breast milk does not pose any health risks to babies unlike baby formulae, which have on occasions proved fatal to babies in some European countries.

Mrs Alabi said baby formulae could however not be avoided under certain circumstances.

Such exceptional situations include incapacitation of mothers, abandoned babies and babies in intensive care or where a baby loses his or her mother. 11 May 05