On the Naughty List: Enfamil

I know of one company who may be getting coal in the Christmas stocking this year:  Enfamil.  I'll tell you the incredible reason why in a minute. But first, a bit of a personal tale, because, what's the point of a blog if you can't rant or brag or simply share?!  My first baby was easy to nurse.  A few first days of waiting for the milk to come in.  Followed by a few days of toe-curling engorgement.  And then my kid did her thing, my ducts did theirs, and they both cooperated for the entire 12 months that I nursed.  Baby #2?  Not so much.  She fell asleep, and stayed asleep, whenever I nursed her. Cold towels, breath blown in her face, tickles to her feet and stomach, the discomfort caused by disrobing her - produced NOTHING. The kid was zonked out like I had sleeping medication secreted in my breastmilk. She'd nurse briefly on one side, and then not the other. She didn't latch appropriately in the beginning, too sleepy I suppose to even open her mouth wide enough to get a good grip.  Because Munchkin didn't nurse long enough, and didn't nurse appropriately while she waited for my milk to come in, she lost more than the average amount of weight in those first two weeks of birth. I was advised by her pediatrician to supplement with formula until her weight stabilized. I resisted, because I wanted Munchkin to only have breastmilk, without my own personal guilt and shame about feeding her formula. My own hangup. I'm just being honest (I can also honestly say that I have no negative feelings about other moms feeding their baby formula. With the exception of excessive disciplining, I'm quite open-minded about other moms' choices in childrearing). In the end, I gave her about two 4-oz bottles of formula per day, for just a couple of weeks, until her weight stabilized and she could manage to pull herself together for at least 10 minutes to nurse. Then we went to exclusive breastfeeding, and I produced enough milk to feed my baby, your baby, and your neighbor's baby.  But I was grateful to at least have the formula option when it was deemed medically necessary. The formula I selected was Enfamil - a brand I knew, always saw advertised, and thought best for my baby. I didn't give any consideration to the store brands of formula, assuming them to be inferior to the major Enfamil money-maker.

 

That was over a year ago, and a concern of the past. But, this week I was contacted by MomSelect, and informed about a landmark court case against the makers of Enfamil formula. MomSelect asked that bloggers pass the  information along to their readers.  And after learning about the case, I absolutely agreed that it was imperative that my readers hear it too.  Are you past the nursing/feeding stages? Stop gloating long enough to pass this along to a mom you know, or a mom-to-be, who could be helped by this info. 

 

The information was very well summarized by MomSelect, so I've copied it below.

 

Let us preface what we want to share with you with this- We are in no way endorsing formula over breastfeeding; however, we have learned that many moms are unnecessarily paying more for formula when they choose to bottle feed because of unfair advertising.  We thought this information was important enough to share with you and hopefully your readers.
 
In a landmark federal court case, a jury verdict confirmed that Mead Johnson, the maker of Enfamil LIPIL Infant Formula, has engaged in false advertising by stating that store brand-infant formulas sold at Walmart, Target, CVS, Walgreens and other retailers, do not provide the same nutritional benefits as Enfamil.
 
The jury found that Enfamil advertisements were false and misleading, especially since store- brand formulas have the same nutrients at the same levels as Enfamil.  In the process, they have exposed the truth about infant formula: store-brand infant formulas are nutritionally equivalent to, and confer the same developmental benefits as, the more expensive national brands like Enfamil. Buying a heavily marketed formula from a big pharmaceutical company does not get you any closer to breast milk.
 
So what does this mean to Moms?  It means they could have been saving up to $600 a year by using store brand formulas, which cost half as much as Enfamil LIPIL and other national brands.
 
We want to be very clear that by sending you this information MomSelect is not suggesting that formula feeding is the best available option for infant nutrition; breast milk is best for babies. We just want moms to know that they don't have to spend money unnecessarily.

 

Further information can be found through the following links:

 

http://www.pbmproducts.com/press.aspx?ID=310

http://industry.bnet.com/advertising/10004868/a-desperate-mead-johnson-loses-135m-jury-verdict-over-false-claims/

http://www.brandweek.com/bw/content_display/esearch/e3i6328aaffeb014c13fbcc5dbedc3d4fd7

http://blogs.consumerreports.org/baby/2009/07/save-money-on-baby-stuff-cheap-formula.html

Big thanks to Amy and MomSelect for spreading the mama word!

 

Comments

[Mom to Two Boys]

I've learned not to jump on bandwagons. I had the same issues with my 2 kids as you described. First one breastfed like a dream. Second on was a nightmare and in the end, I used formula, not only for my baby's well being but mine too. I really don't like the phrase "breast milk is best" because not only does that phrase depend on each persons individual circumstances but now the nutritional benefit/risk factors of either. I kid you not. All you have to do is google "breast milk" and "toxins"...you may (or may not) be surprised to see the studies that have shown unsafe levels of toxins in breast milk, depending on where you live. So maybe in some circumstances breast milk is best and in others formula is best. Mothers have enough to deal with, nevermind judgement from other mothers. Keep an open mind. Every situation is different.

[adiaha]

I saw the press release announcing the landmark decision against Mead Johnson and it made me think of Nestle. WHen profits are the bottom line companies are at times driven to omit information or change it to suit their needs.

I do hope people start to save and use the discount/generic brands. Formula is super expensive and the large companies keep it that way on purpose.

Breast is best for every baby, but may not be beast for every situation.

Thanks for posting, I enjoyed.

[Stacy]

Well, I will NEVER need this information. I'm done! LOL!! However, I do have a co-worker that is expecting (Baby Shower tomorrow!!) so I will forward this information on to her! :-) Thanks for sharing.

[AngelFabs]

A big thank you to my pediatrician(sp?) who told us this long ago! It's good that the news is finally getting out there!