Sky News: Soaring cost of baby formula is leading to unsafe feeding practices
Data published by BPAS showed that the cost of infant formula has soared over the last year - with the price of the cheapest brand increasing by 22%. The research found:
The current cash value of Healthy Start vouchers, £8.50 per week, is no longer enough to pay for the amount of infant formula needed to safely feed a baby in the first six months of their life.
One Baby Bank has reported “an enormous increase in referrals for parents struggling to feed their little ones” due to formula price rises and warns that “without access to this basic essential, we will see babies in hospital, malnourished.”
Research has found that parents experiencing poverty are also resorting to unsafe feeding practices, including skipping feeds, watering down formula or adding cereal.
Unless there is action by the government, retailers, and formula companies, it is likely that there will be a significant rise in the number of families unable to feed their babies.
Charities including BPAS, Feed, and Mumsnet are calling on the government to increase the Healthy Start allowance from £8.50 to £10 a week for infants to more realistically support families with formula-dependent infants.
BPAS CEO Claire Murphy said:
The government must increase the value of Healthy Start vouchers to protect the health of the youngest and most vulnerable members of our society.
Feed’s Dr Erin Williams added:
"Our research has found that current support for families is not enough to meet the rising costs of formula and that this is putting babies at risk and causing distress for struggling parents. Current guidelines around emergency formula provision are restrictive and open to misinterpretation, meaning that families are having to resort to 'formula foraging' to provide food for their babies.
As we brace ourselves for a really difficult winter, we need to make sure that formula is available when needed; this means providing adequate financial support for families over the long term, as well as maximising pathways for emergency access to formula right now, so no baby goes hungry this Christmas."
