Don’t believe those TV ads about your child becoming an Einstein or a Mozart by drinking formula milk.
“They are false and malicious,” said Dr. Nicholas Alipui, country representative for the Philippines of the United Nations Children Fund (Unicef), adding that no artificial product could be better than mother’s milk.
Alipui, Health Secretary Francisco Duque and breast milk advocate Innes Fernandez were at the Bulong-Pulungan at Sofitel Philippine Plaza yesterday to help us unlearn the many falsehoods that we learned from too much TV watching.
We are not an exception, Duque said, because studies show that less and less Filipino mothers are breast feeding because of the power of false, malicious claims being peddled by multinational milk companies.
Duque said 10 years ago, 65 percent of Filipino mothers were known to be breastfeeding. Now their number is down to 16 percent.
Another pernicious aspect of it, Fernandez said, is that among poor families, not breastfeeding has become a status symbol. She works with Tiboli women and she noticed that mothers who are earning a little more from weaving are no longer breastfeeding. Money that they could use for other needs is spent for formula milk.
Breast milk versus formula milk is an age-old issue but it has become urgent in the Philippines with the impending decision of the Supreme Court on the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Milk Code.
The Milk Code’s history dates back to 1981 when Prof. Esteban Bautista of the UP Law Center drafted the Philippine National Code to regulate the marketing of breast milk substitutes, breast milk supplements and related products.
In October 1986, President Corazon Aquino signed EO 51 known as the Milk Code. It is worthy to note that Aquino’s executive secretary was Joker Arroyo.
In the case before the Supreme Court now, the lawyer handling the case of the Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines (PHAP), which is opposing the Milk Code, is Fely Arroyo, wife of Sen. Arroyo.
In 1992, the Senate passed R.A. 7600 or the Rooming-In/Breastfeeding Act. R.A. 7600 cited that breastfeeding could save the country’s valuable foreign exchange that would otherwise be used for milk importation.
In 2004, Task Force Milk Code began discussion and debate on the first draft of the revised IRR. Nestle represented the milk companies.
In July 2006, the PHAP filed a suit against the Secretary of Health and all the undersecretaries and assistant secretaries who signed the revised IRR. PHAP petitioned for a temporary restraining order on its implementation. The High Court denied PHAP’s petition.
On August 11, 2006 Thomas Donohue, president and CEO of the United States Chamber of Commerce, wrote Gloria Arroyo warning that the revised IRR of the Milk Code “would have unintended negative consequences for investors’ confidence in the predictability of business law in the Philippines.”
Four days later, the Supreme Court overturned its previous order and imposed a TRO on the revised IRR.
In November 2006, the office of the Solicitor General petitioned the High Court to left the TRO. Last June 19, the DOH and the PHAP presented oral arguments in the Supreme Court. They have until July 19 to submit memoranda to the Supreme Court, responding to the justices’ questions.
The issue of breastfeeding is linked to the future of the nation. Studies have shown that babies who are breast-fed have fewer illnesses and are better nourished than those who are fed other drinks and foods.
Using breast milk substitutes, such as infant formula or animal’s milk, can be a threat to infants’ health. This is particularly the case if parents cannot afford sufficient substitutes, which are quite expensive or do not always have clean water with which to mix them.
In the Philippines, two of the leading causes of child deaths are diarrhea and pneumonia. Formula feeding increases children’s risks of these diseases.
Dr. Alipui debunked the myth that malnourished mothers pass on their nutrition deficiency to their babies through breastfeeding. He said studies in war and poverty-stricken countries like Darfur and Biafra showed that nature has a way correcting those deficiencies. A mother who is nutritionally compromised will manufacture much more superior milk that animals and man-made facilities, he said.
Nature works miracles, he said.
Baby Formula Makers claim that their milks contains Fatty Acid that makes Baby Smarter, mother’s milk contains ten time more Fatty Acids. And Human Babies are still smarter, much, much smarter than Bovine Babies bwa…bwa…bwa..
I wonder if Gloria breast-fed her children? (eeek!)Her milk must have contained tons of nuclear waste and a cocktail blend of voodoo venom and industrial poisons. Must’ve been contaminated by shitty acids and mutant microorganisms, too.
Look, her little monsters are not even good enough for Pokemon!
Tongue T: Look, her little monsters are not even good enough for Pokemon!
*****
Hahahahahaha! Manang-mana sa magulang ha? Magaling lang magsugal!
You mean gloria had tainted formula?
I am bound to believe it!
Why, look at what it did to her….
Not only was she fed tainted milk formula, she also has tainted formula for InanG Bayan! Sanabawitz!
Ellen,
Over here, everybody knows that breastfeeding is better than feeding children with formula. Matagal nang alam ng mga hapon iyan, bago pa ipinanganak ang binata ko. My son is now 22 years old. Nakakasisi nga hindi ko siya na-breastfed because I was sick. Sensitive tuloy ang skin. Pero iyong intelligence hereditary, nothing to do with milk.
Dito ang problema ng gobyerno ngayon ay kaunti ang nanganganak kaya iyong nanganganak ang laki ng pabuya. Iyan ang napala ng birth control nila noon. Pinaparusahan sila ngayon na maraming nababaog!
Sabi nga, never tamper with nature kung ayaw ng mga taong magalit ang Diyos sa kanila.
Ellen,
Breast feeding full time (every 2 or 3 hours sort of depending on how greedy the baby is) in Europe is almost an SOP at the very least for the first 2 months of the child’s life or before the mother goes back to work.
I personally breast fed all my children; unfortunately I could only do full time breastfeeding for my youngest just for the first 2 months as I had to go back to work right away and then a mix of baby bottle and breast feeding until my youngest baby was 8 or 9 months of age.
I do believe that if the breastfeeding mother has poor milk, say due to poor personal nutrition herself, it would be wise to have a mix. Women who are planning to be pregnant are advised to start taking in vitamins and other health pills prescribed by their doctors in preparation for pregnancy to aid the foetus not only to survive but to stay healthy, ie, for better teeth, eyesight eventually, etc.
Anyway, the trouble in developing countries is that there’s not enough pre-natal care given to would-be mothers (or even systematic post natal care for both mother and child) and therefore these would-be mothers run higher risks of being malnourished or poorly nourished at best which is bound to have an adverse effect on the baby in the womb and during its growing years once born.
In Europe or at least in the French system which I am more familiar with, pregnant mothers have an almost compulsory medical check all along their pregnancy, free of charge; when a baby is born, the parent is compelled by the state to submit the newborn to a monthly pediatric check-up all free of charge (booster shots and all); infants and children in France, regardless of nationality or legal status in France, are normally compelled by law to be submitted to a periodic mandatory health check until the age of 18; obviously the costs are taken care of entirely by the state (that’s where a huge part of our taxes go).
Over here, Anna, doctors do not recommend taking in vitamin supplements. They recommend good food and balanced diet. May katwiran because those medicines in fact can have lasting harmful side effects.
At least, we can sue pharmaceutical companies and the government for gross neglect, etc. over here. I am a beneficiary of one as a matter of fact, and why I can live in comfort for the rest of my life even when I decide to go on an early retirement.
I agree with Yuko that breast feeding or bottle feeding has nothing to do with intelligence. It is hereditary. The only alternative to enhance the brain of the child of an idiot parents is an artificial transplant. The child of a repeater parents during their school days could not excel as a valedictorian, valictorian lang sila, those are the teacher’s favorite.
Rose, detailed from her last thread about the Parable of the sower and the seed. Na piliin ang binhi.Kung magtanim ka ng maasim na sampalok,maasim din ang bunga.Kung magtanim ka ng indian mango ay hindi kinalabaw ang bunga. In short,pag bobo ang parehong magulang bobo ang anak.Huwag ng pangarapin na maging doctor o abugado pa sila.Trapolita have proven that theory.Traditional education is just a drill and kill and rote learning to them, and they must be enroll in a chid-centered school so that it will improve their authentic assessment. The DepEd must improve their cooperative learning to sharpen the child critical-thinking skill.
Hindi sa gatas ang problema para tumalino ang bata kundi sa pagtuturo.Bobo na nga iyong mga anak ng mga bobo ay hindi pa turuan ng husto,ay di lalo silang magiging bobo.Breastfeeding is only good on the first or to second child,matutuyuan ang angat dam ng nanay,lalo na pag gabi makikisuso pa si tatay,ay patay na tayo d’yan.Mabuti kung nasa probinsya sila dahil maraming malungay at kung medyo sinuwerte at naligaw ang tandang ni Teban,ayun sasabuyan na ng palay ng tatay ay may tinola na sila,full tank na naman ang dalawang drum ni Inday dahil sa sabaw.Sa Kamaynilaan may mahihingan ba sila ng malungay?Mabuti pa mamasada na lang ng tricycle si Banoy para may pambili siyang isang latang Nido or Similac at Lactogen.
breastfeeding is best…even up to seven years…as what dzbb’s joel reyes zobel said his mother did to him.
watch a video of extraordinary breastfeeding here.
Just saw in Ophra’s show a while ago on Siblings Day 6 babies (sextuplets) born to an Afro-American couple the first in the Afro American history. When they were born the parents could hold their babies in the palm of their hands. Because they were poor- breast feeding ang ginamit ng nanay..ang lalakas na nila ngayon. My younger sister was breast fed and she was quite intelligent- honor student sa high school, went to UP, naging Forensic Chemist siya ng NYPD-first Asian, first woman to join that dept. Hindi dahil sa breast fed siya… talagang matalino siya and a conscientious student and focused on being an achiever. Hindi como I was fed with Marca Senorita..bobo ako at tamad? Ambot gani. One good result of breast feeding is a strong bond between the mother and the child. Kung ganoon..Breast fed ba si GMA? Eh bakit ganoon ang ugali?
Trade and Industry Secretary Peter Favila and Health Secretary Francisco Duque are the possible key players in protecting the interests of foreign pharmaceuticals like Wyeth, Abbott and Mead Johnson over the national interest. The World Health Organisation estimates 16,000 babies a year die in the Philippines as a result of a decline in breastfeeding. False advertising is one of the contributing factors of infant deaths. Breast milk is the perfect food for baby’s mind and body. Secretary Francisco Duque is just doing lip service. In reality, DOH chief Doque cannot resist big time pharma corporate’ juicy lobbying offer and by coincidence he is the richest GMA Cabinet member. Kung ang gatas ni Gloriang Tiyanak, hindi para sa tao o hayop, eh para saan?
Ellen says: “… child becoming an Einstein or a Mozart by drinking formula milk.”
Chances are these claims are true. Those nurtured by formula milk tend to gravitate towards the land of Einstein and Mozart, as domestic helpers… like salmon going back to their spawning grounds by instinct. Those who cannot go out of the country become stunted Einsteins and Mozarts because they cannot possibly thrive in nonEinstein/Mozart country and therefore become the reason for third world citizens.
Palagay ko hindi pa uso ang Lactogen at Similac noon panahon nila Einstein at Mozart. Siguradong dumede sila sa kanilang mga ina kaya mataas ang mga IQ.
16,000 babies die each year because of the decline in breast feeding? False Claim yon…malnutrition pa..walang makakain ang nanay kaya saan ang nutrition? sa dami ng sakit ngayon na nakakahawa- HIV, etc. hindi puede magbreast feed ang nanay…nagdecline ang breast feeding sa mahihirap dahil ang nanay mismo ay walang makakain. Seguro “lunok” (rice porridge na malabnaw) na lang ang pinakakain.. Sa mga mayaman naman gaya ni GMA..karamihan sa kanila hindi nagbebreast feed- masira ang figure…thus the decline..anong klaseng logic…
“The only alternative to enhance the brain of the child of an idiot parents is an artificial transplant.”
Bwahahhahah! Cocoy, tumigil ka nga muna sandali at masakit ang panga ko sa katatawa!
Dapat pala ay unahing bigyan ng artificial brain transplants sina Mikey d’ Horsey, Dado d’ P**&&^%a, and Luli d’ Ngetpa as they are children of idiot parents, gloria the psychotic poootha and IpDye the neurotic pig!
Alitaptap,
What you said was very funny but true! Hahahah at ARAY!
Breastfed kaya si Tianak? Super galing sa korapsyon e!
Rose,
Naniniwala ako na kaya maraming nanay ang hindi makapag-breastfed ay walang gatas dahil malnourished dahil ginugutom ni gloria maligna, kesa sa rason na false ads!
Over here, Ellen, when a company is caught lying the owners are held legally responsible and all victims of negligence are properly compensated. If there is a government connivance the personnels in charge are likewise punished with jail term and fine.
Sa Philippines, basta may kapit walang nakukulong kaya nawiwili.
Siguro kailangan na talaga ang rebolusyon at pagdanak ng dugo para mabago ang lahat. Kailangan pa bang maghintay ng 300 years para matoto? I wonder.
Rose: Breast fed ba si GMA? Eh bakit ganoon ang ugali?
*****
Baka nasipsip ang sama ng ugali ng ina kasi nga swapang at ganid! Sucker daw talaga ang ugas kahit noong bata pa. 😛
I have a 2-year old daughter who was fortunate and the same time unfortunate. She was able to taste human/mom’s milk for 1 ½ months. However, I had to stop breastfeeding her after that period since I had to go back to work. I happen to have many officemates who are mothers, too. We often exchange notes on motherhood. It’s saddening to hear from some mothers that they choose expensive and well-known (well-advertised) brands because as promised in commercials, kids will become smart/smarter, healthier (protection against this and that), etc. Some mothers or parents believe that the more expensive the formula is, the better for their kids. Makes me think that milk has also become one of the status symbols. Pag mas mahal ang brand na bibilhin mo, me sinasabi ka sa buhay. Personally, I go for brands which are not that well-advertised and are reasonably priced. It is not only being frugal. I must say that I am not easily persuaded by those ads. Mas malusog pa nga anak ko sa kanila. Proof of the matter is, madalas silang absent kasi me sakit anak nila.
Rose: Breast fed ba si GMA? Eh bakit ganoon ang ugali?
breast fed ‘yan.
sa aso nga lang! kita n’yo ugali, mas masahol pa sa aso!
Canned milk… this is a clear evil capitalist deadly instrument and part of economic foreign imperialism. Mothers’ milk is still the best it comes from very attractive container that never rust.
ganu’n ba ‘yun? tumatalino ang sanggol kapag pinasususo sa ina?
kaya pala matatalino ang matsing.
‘buti pa sila. ‘yung mga anak ni gloria lumabas na utak buwaya. sobrang masisiba at walang pinatatawad basta mabusog lamang sa masisila!
lalo na siguro kung pinadede pa ni gloria.
baka mas masahol pa sa mga buwaya!
Re: “Breast fed ba si GMA? ”
E paano naman ang nag-breast fed kay Gloria (kung na breast fed siya) ay iyong nanay niya na isa sa pinaka swapang na tao sabi ng nanay ko. Kaya iyang si Gloria nakuha ang pagkaswapang ng nanay niya!
breast feeding or not has no effect on the child’s mental capacity but on the physical.to activate the child’s brain as early as possible is the best way to develop its mental capacity. it is said that a child’s first year is quite crucial, when it comes to its mental capacity in the future. i am not a medical doctor nor a lawyer but i think one should respect the differences between the professions. one cannot force the mothers to breast feed by law but one should look on the causes why they shy away from breast feeding. the govt must create laws that make breast feeding conducive even when mothers work for example, permission with pay for half a year in the first year after a childbirth.
Freezing the mother’s milk – those she collects whenever she pumps out milk in the office and keeps in the office freezer – is enough to stimulate lactation and maintain a steady supply for the child for months. White-collar working mothers do not have a problem, therefore. My wife used to keep these little containers in a small Coleman when she travels home then transfer them to the home freezers. We thaw them when its time to feed. When she’s rested or on weekends, she breastfeeds the baby. Me, too. Heheh. Direct breastfeeding (of the baby) only stops when the little guy grows teeth.
Those mothers who are impoverished and do menial jobs are the ones who suffer even more than their middle-class counterparts.
—–
As for Gloria, she breastfed not from out of her mother but from her Yaya – an underpaid and overworked ex-prostitute from Angeles, who smoked Bataan Matamis, drank spoiled lambanog, and shot opium while she breastfed Gloria – to get even!
TT;
Breastfed by the yaya—hehehehe!
Question.–Do you think that there is a possibility that she was been switched at birth in maternity ward?–Like the telenovela of Mara Clara.
Okay, I’ll eat humble pie and take back the Churchillian ‘fanatics’ label tag on Ellenbloggers. (Churchill quote: “A fanatic is one who can’t change his mind and won’t change the subject”.) The current topic belies the tag.
Discussing the raging controversy between breast versus formula milk is timely and vital. The real protagonists in this issue are big pharma (the purveyors of exorbitantly priced medicines) and consumers. I hope this will also eventually lead to a discussion on the merits of prevention as public health policy and wean away from the prevailing paradigm of curative medicine.
Cocoy, of course she was switched! Whose mother would love a face like that? I’m sure the attending physician who made the delivery took one good look at Baby Gloria…then slapped her real mother!
(Do I sound like Gary Lising?)
Bwahahahah! Hayy naku talaga!
Tongue, Cocoy,
Kaya nga tayo nawawala ng matagal sa cyberspace dahil sa kalokohan ninyong dalawa! Hahahahhha!!!
Speaking of brilliant babies, it can be nurtured from the womb of the mother as contained in the book titled Brilliant Babies. The author is a Filipino doctor who graduated from UP, Dr. Leonardo Leonidas of Bangor Maine, USA. His other book is Baby Math.
Those interested can contact him at: .
Those interested can contact him at: lleonidas@adelphia.net
An anecdotal tale relates of some matrons in an exclusive club debating who should give the baby its 2 AM feeding, the bread earner husband or the fulltime housewife. The discussion was heated, so each side of the argument agreed to ask the opinion of the oldest member, a grandmother. Her reply: My dears, during my time we had no bottles and rubber nipples. Moral: bottles are dangerous to infant health
It seems Ellenville favors breastfeeding over formula, except under certain situations. Obviously, a mother working in Qatar can’t breastfeed her infant in Antique being cared for by relatives. The study indicating that 80 percent of ethnic Asians are intolerant to cow’s milk may be partly causing the infant mortality due to diarrhea of formula fed babies. Mother’s milk naturally is a perfect fit. Another study suggests an added benefit to a breastfed baby – the mother’s heartbeat while suckling is a familiar sound it heard in the womb and soothes, enhances comfort and bonding.
The stance of Japanese doctors discouraging the pre-natal use of vitamin supplements is in contrast to U.S. doctors practice of liberal supplementation which I suspect is the powerful influence of Big Pharma. I am inclined towards the Japanese way. Natural foods have phytochemicals that are not present in synthetic vitamin capsules. Phytochemicals are believed to holistic buffering and act synergistically with the minerals and vitamins in food.
sino kaya ang naging kalaro ni gloria noon ng dede-dedehan… este dadi-dadihan pala?
si nani ba o si nanny nya? …errr ano ba yan?