Doc. 8903

11 December 2000

Breast-feeding

Written Question No. 388

Reply from the Committee of Ministers

adopted at the 731^st meeting of the Ministers' Deputies (29 November 2000)

I.        Written Question No. 388 by Mrs Squarcialupi and others (Doc. 8877)

      Considering that in many countries of the Council of Europe there is now a widespread practice whereby medical staff advise new mothers, with different arguments, to use substitutes for mother’s milk and even though these are para–pharmaceutical products that are presented to consumers as health products, particularly in those countries where they are sold exclusively at the chemist’s;

      Considering that the cost of powdered milk varies considerably from country to country, also because the manufacturers recuperate the considerable sums of money spent on their massive advertising campaigns by adding them to the selling price,

      The undersigned ask the Committee of Ministers

      Whether any concrete action involving doctors, paramedics and new mothers is being undertaken in the hospitals of the Council of Europe member states in order to encourage breast-feeding, as this is unquestionably, from the viewpoint of nutrition and health, the best as well as the cheapest method to feed newborn babies;

      Whether it would be possible, with the participation of consumer protection associations, to verify the prices and conditions of sale of the above-said products, as distortions and lack of transparency are often recorded in this field.

II.        Reply from the Committee of Ministers

The Committee of Ministers has taken note of Written Question No. 388 on breastfeeding.

It wishes to assure the Honourable Parliamentarian that it recognises the importance she attaches to the way in which babies are nourished from the point of view of both baby health and consumer information.

However, it has to inform her that no activity focusing on this subject is at present included in the Council of Europe’s work programme.

But it wishes to draw attention to the work being conducted in this sphere by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in partnership with UNICEF, which has resulted in the launching of schemes such as the one entitled “Baby Friendly Hospitals” seeking to promote breast feeding, and with many NGOs, such as the International Confederation of Midwives, the International Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA) and the International Organisation of Consumers Unions, which are working in the same direction.

Work is also in progress in the European Union to regulate the composition, labelling, advertising and marketing of baby food and, in the framework of the French Presidency of the European Union, a resolution by health ministers on the promotion of nutrition has been prepared. The promotion of breastfeeding is in fact one of the proposals for action presented to the Commission.

Accordingly, bearing in mind that the questions raised by the Honourable Parliamentarian are not among the priorities adopted by the Committee of Ministers and having regard to the involvement of other international organisations, the Committee of Ministers does not consider it wise to add these topics to the Council of Europe’s work programme.