Cilincing area of Jakarta, in Indonesia.
Employees dressed up in doctor’s coats or nurse uniforms telling moms formula is healthiest for their babies and handing out free cans…
Babies getting diarrhea and dying or getting incredibly ill from contaminated water mixed with their formula…
That was in the 80′s, and what started the Nestle boycott. People claim those who boycott need to get over it, and that Nestle has since recanted and improved.
So why is the breastfeeding rate in Indonesia disturbingly low and dropping as much as 10% in a two year period, 40% of children under 5 are malnourished enough to suffer stunted growth, babies are dying and women believe that formula is better than their breastmilk?
Because Nestle DIDN’T stop their tactics… they just moved on to another country.
Indonesia has very unsanitary living conditions, and struggles from a lot of the same problems that made the push of formula so dangerous in South Africa the first time Nestle pulled this stunt — very dirty water, unsanitary bottles and nipples, and not enough resources to continually supply formula for at least a year, lacking medical care and rampant diseases, so the antibodies from breastmilk become literally lifesaving.
Yet Nestle has convinced women so thoroughly that their formulas are superior that when the charity group “Mercy Corp” tried to talk to moms-to-be and new moms about breastfeeding, they literally did not believe that breastmilk was better than formula, citing that the commercials on TV had told them formula was superior. Who’s commercials? Well gee, I’ll give you one guess.
Despite their three-month maternity leave (can the US be even further behind?), their breastfeeding rates are absymal because like the US, their country hasn’t adopted the WHO/UNICEF’s Code… but unlike our country, they have even more to lose from not breastfeeding, even less access to proper information and medical care, making it much, much worse with much higher rates of death and illness.
So Indonesia’s solution was to make it law that women must breastfeed exclusively for the first six months. It’s a law I’d love to get behind, but it’s not going to help. If you really want to help, kick out Nestle. Tell them, just like in South Africa, to get the hell out and stop lying to moms — their babies are literally dying because Nestle lies to the mothers.
Of course, Nestle pretends it’s all untrue:
Nestle, one of the biggest players in Indonesia’s infant food industry, told the BBC: “We strongly disagree with any such accusation that Nestle actively and aggressively promotes our infant formula products in Indonesia.
“Nestle believes that breast milk is best for babies, and we support exclusive breastfeeding for six months from the baby’s birth.”
The statement goes on to say that Nestle also provides breastfeeding rooms in their offices, and breastfeeding posters to health institutions.
Uh huh. Right. Peter Braybeck at his best, or his new Indonesian counterpart. You know all the jokes about lawyers and sharks? I think Nestle seeks out the most aggressive, slick sharks they can, and sadly, people often buy the snake oil they’re selling (how many more cliches can I put in one sentence?).
But regardless, Indonesia is going about this all wrong. It’s ridiculous to punish women for failing at breastfeeding while you still allow formula companies to brainwash medical professionals and mothers. The first step to helping women breastfeed isn’t to tell them they have to or they’ll go to jail — it’s to prevent companies like Nestle from being able to lie to them and lead them astray in the first place.
And let me just say that the Nestle boycott is going strong still… and I see it picking up momentum as more and more people learn that they’ve never changed their tactics… and apparently also refuse to learn.
Tags: #nonestle, breastfeeding, education, formula, formula feeding, indonesia, nestle boycott, research
I agree Nestles has not changed. It was within the last year, I believe, that they were still trying to steal Colorado water. Sounds like the tiger has the same stripes, no change.
This is disgusting! I breastfeed but have to supplement because my milk supply did not come in properly because my DS was severely tongue-tied. I tried to use organic formula but my DS kept getting constipated. I tried the Nestle Good Start once and it made my son scream and cry until he had a bowel movement. Breastmilk is best for babies. Breastfeeding is wonderful and I’m so glad we were able to overcome the challenges we had and still be able to do it part-time.
Twitter: RanaAurora
says:
Erin, was there a reason they didn’t clip the frenulum, or did they and it didn’t help? In cases of tongue-tie, usually a 5-minute procedure solves it easily.
Probably, like in my case, it took awhile for me to figure out my son was tongue-tied, in the meantime my supply dropped to very low levels. Also some people have trouble getting their peds to clip the tongue. Its very difficult to get my supply back up after that.
Jessica…good for you for sticking with it!
Twitter: RanaAurora
says:
That really surprises me, Jessica! Normally when there’s latch issues, tongue-tie is one of the first things checked.
That’s a shame Jessica. Tongue tie wasn’t found in my baby until 7 weeks. The frenulum was snipped then and we went home to bed and stayed there. My baby fed almost constantly, I just rested, only changing my baby and getting up to use the bathroom. My husband cooked for me and cared for our other children. I drank a lot of water and had plenty of skin to skin contact. My baby was grizzly and hungry for a couple of days, but our efforts and perserverance fixed my low supply. In case any future children have this problem, try rest, skin contact, plenty of water and frequent/ constant feeding before resorting to formula.
There are different types of tongue-tie, and even if clipped early the problems sometimes continue.
Twitter: RanaAurora
says:
Alrighty, so apparently a really good post on tongue-tie is needed. Does anyone have anything to say about the POST?
just that without my daughter’s tongue tie release, we would have had to stop nursing – she wasn’t getting much and i was in tears during ever nursing session. it’s SO important to have a good pediatrician who is breastfeeding friendly to look at it. i had three doctors and three LC’s tell me she wasn’t tongue tied when i had never seen her tongue go past her gums. i told them that, but they just did not care. thanks to dr. jack newman, moxxie had it released (albeit twice – they can grow back, did you know?) and we never looked back.
hi there erin,
if you are interested, there is a new mother to mother group on facebook called eats on feets (canada (by province), the usa (by state), australia (by state) and several other countries). they offer donated breastmilk for babies of mothers who are unable to breastfeed (or like in your case, need to supplement). donated breast milk can be pasteurized if you feel it necessary and it is still better than formula. your other option is to pay to have the donating mother screened (much like how they screen for blood dontations) and then you would not have to pasteurize at all. if you can find a mother willing to donate close to you, the milk is free – you would just need to be able to get it, or pay for shipping. do a search on facebook for “eats on feets” – we’re a bunch of mom’s passionate about breastfeeding!
erin,
i am right there with you… had to supplement due to my milk never fully coming in and son still losing weight @ 2 weeks old… more than 10%. always crying out of hunger. such a terrible feeling to have to give my son something i dont believe in. through the facebook page ‘eats on feets’ i have found a breastmilk donor and am meeting with her in a few days!!!
This is disturbing on many levels. To mislead people about their products is wrong, but to be unapologetic when sickness and death are the result is worse.
Twitter: RanaAurora
says:
Absolutely. AND to continue the same cycle in a new area when what happened in the first place they tried it was so tragic — just like the CDC, UNICEF and the WHO told them it would be.
Putting pressure on mothers to breastfeed is not the best way forward, in my view. Mothers need support and information – and companies such as Nestlé have to be forced to abide by the international baby food marketing standards.
While the boycott has stopped some of Nestlé’s tactics, it keeps coming back with new ways to undermine breastfeeding and mislead mothers who use formula – including in Africa.
Right now it is promoting its baby milk with the claim that it ‘protects’ babies and is ‘the new “Gold Standard” in infant nutrition’.
On the Baby Milk Action site you can see examples of Nestlé’s own materials and promotions in countries such as Botswana. Please send a message to Nestlé calling on it to stop – we have already forced it to stop special product displays in rural Malawi, but it continues to defend its idealising claims. See:
http://info.babymilkaction.org/emailnestle
Twitter: RanaAurora
says:
Mr. Brady, it is HUGE honor to see you replying to this post on our blog! It is your website, babymilkaction.org, that really helped me understand the Nestle boycott in regards to infant welfare, and I’ve followed your website for years, often sharing your every post with the growing number of boycotters I’ve found over time.
Thank you so much for all your hard work and dedication. While it can seem that Nestle gets away with so much even still, it’s people like you and your following who continue to shine light on the issue and promote activism, and in turn, save the lives of many babies.
This is a heartbreaking story. Breastfeeding for me was such an incredible experience. My son and I were able to have alone time and bond for over a year. He was never a chubby baby, but he was always satisfied and was never sick. He went in for his first sinus infection at 12 months. The nurse practitioner opened his chart and was surprised that he only went to the office for well visits. I just smiled at her and said,” He is a breastfed baby!” I will admit I didn’t always take my vitamins nor am I the BEST eater in the world, but he was always well fed and happy. This is just a testimony to how wonderful breastmilk is for your baby!!!