Regulators should take action to curb a sharp rise in the price of infant formula, pregnancy campaigners have said, after a UK survey found more than half of women felt anxious about the cost of feeding their babies, with the number who expressed concerned rising by a quarter in two years.
The British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) found 65% of mothers were worried about the price of feeding their babies, and the same number said it had a negative impact on their family’s finances. A third of women felt it was “better” for babies to be fed the more expensive milk, despite there being no nutritional benefits.
The report follows findings from the Competition and Markets Authority, which found prices had rocketed 25% during the cost of living crisis, with branded suppliers increasing their retail prices by more than their input costs and maintaining high profit margins.
The charity is calling for urgent and bold measures including price caps and subsidies, as more households are forced to make tough choices.
The BPAS survey of 1,000 women who have formula fed babies under a year old in the last year found that some were introducing cheaper cow’s milk earlier than they would have otherwise, cutting back on other items or trying to breastfeed despite finding it painful.
Clare Murphy, chief executive of BPAS, said their report showed the “toll” of current formula costs. She said this was compounded in some cases by “guilt and shame around not breastfeeding”.
She added: “Supporting breastfeeding does not need to come at the, quite literal, expense of failing to tackle the issue of access to an affordable consistent supply of formula milk”.
Most of the women surveyed (83%) wanted immediate interim measures to help with the costs, such as allowing parents to collect and use supermarket loyalty points and vouchers when buying formula milk. The report also recommends free or subsidised national infant milk, price caps and a renewed matricentric infant-feeding policy.
Justine Roberts, the chief executive at Mumsnet, one of the UK’s biggest forums for parents, said the platform “heard frequently from parents who are struggling” with the cost of infant formula.
She added: “Alongside immediate practical measures to support parents who are struggling financially with formula, we need better infant-feeding support across the board for new mums.”
