Date of Graduation

5-2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science in Nursing

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Nursing

Advisor/Mentor

Scott, Allison

Committee Member

Vowell-Johnson, Kelly

Abstract

Less than half of the world’s infants and young children are breastfed despite the major benefits and recommendations by WHO. Commercial milk formula has been advertised so intensely that it has produced many misleading marketing styles that lead parents to believe commercial milk formula has better benefits than breastmilk. The United States is one of the few countries that have yet to act on WHO’s International Code of Marketing for Breastmilk to decrease the aggressive marketing styles in place. By only placing pictures of happy babies on the formula cans, it leads parents to believe that their baby would be “happier” if they were exclusively on commercial milk formula. Since the United States has not placed any regulation on infant formula, it allows these companies to push intense marketing that would eventually increase the consumption of infant formula. Aside from poor marketing, these companies do not discuss the increased risks of feeding your baby infant formula. Diabetes, obesity, SIDS, asthma, and other chronic diseases occur more often in formula-fed infants. The effects of commercial formula marketing on the parent’s ability to follow recommended guidelines are unclear. However, the intense marketing of commercial milk formula comes to play when caregivers try to decide.

Keywords

infant formula; infant; marketing strategies

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