The Ashanti Regional Director of Health Services has called for the strict enforcement of the International Code of Marketing of Breast-Milk Substitutes, saying it is time for authorities and regulatory bodies to clamp down on aggressive infant formula marketing practices that undermine mothers' confidence in breastfeeding.

According to Dr Fred Adomako-Boateng, although breastfeeding remains the best source of nutrition for infants, commercial pressures and misleading promotional strategies continue to erode progress in exclusive breastfeeding.

He said commercial advertisements targeting expectant and new mothers increasingly contravene approved standards, luring and misleading mothers into abandoning breastfeeding in favour of breast-milk substitutes.

Dr Adomako-Boateng also pointed to changing lifestyles and societal pressures associated with modernity, warning that the growing dependence on breast-milk substitutes and artificial food supplements is gradually displacing natural infant feeding practices, particularly exclusive breastfeeding.

“The industry and the marketing are becoming more sophisticated. We have codes; we have laws and rules in the application of even selling this. But they have ways of going around it and even doing advertising it. For example, one classic example, which is very subtle, is giving you a lab coat with that brand, which is actually promoting breastfeeding products; giving you a pen; giving you a name tag. These are ways that subtly, subconsciously, they evade, and they seem to be working on us so that, look, it means that these substitutes are good, and therefore they go for them inappropriately,” Dr Adomako-Boateng revealed.

He further noted that inadequate family and workplace support often leaves first-time mothers overwhelmed, making them more likely to rely on breast-milk substitutes.

“The mother is frustrated. Let's say this is a first baby for the mother; she's living alone and working somewhere. The woman is frustrated. She's not having any support. Obviously, they will go for the substitute. So these are practical ways that you can fight it. The woman is not feeling well because of this bad positioning, especially when the mother is feeding the baby, which can develop problems at the nipple and all those, which then can also aid the mother to do that. So it's neither here nor there, but all that we are saying is that, look, let's find a way in supporting and in addressing these before they happen,” he added.

The concerns come at a time when 19 districts in the Ashanti Region recorded exclusive breastfeeding rates below the regional average, despite overall improvement in the region. Exclusive breastfeeding among infants aged zero to three months increased from 81.9 per cent in 2024 to 83.8 per cent in 2025.

To help address these challenges, Dr Adomako-Boateng urged employers to establish dedicated lactation support rooms at workplaces to enable nursing mothers to continue breastfeeding after returning to work.

He also stressed the need for sustained public education to dispel misconceptions surrounding breastfeeding, particularly cultural myths about colostrum.

“Not everything that is available or accessible is good. And the discussions that we're having, even the colostrum, I'll just give you a typical example. Traditionally, we believed that the first breast milk that is expressed should be poured away. That's the custom, that's the myth. But that is a very powerful stabiliser of growth and immune systems in the body. If you don't know, no matter how affluent or wherever you are, you throw it away.

We know the benefits of breast milk. It's time-tested; for the future, we know it. Now, the point is, why then will people move away regardless of whatever is causing them not to access it? First and foremost, it's education and understanding. Because if you really understand, you know there's a cost implication, and normally people think of the short term, but we don't look at the long-term effect on the child.”

Dr Adomako-Boateng emphasised that breastfeeding should not be viewed solely as a mother's responsibility, calling on traditional authorities, religious leaders, families and communities to help challenge harmful cultural beliefs and create a supportive environment for nursing mothers.

His remarks were made during this year's World Breastfeeding Day commemoration held at Asante Bekwai under the theme "Breastfeeding for a Sustainable Start in Life: Strengthen What Works".

The event highlighted the importance of community participation in promoting breastfeeding and improving maternal and child health outcomes through stronger collaboration among health professionals, traditional leaders, employers, families and other stakeholders.

Meanwhile, the Ashanti Regional Nutrition Officer, Maame Yaa Konadu Adiyiah, told participants at the World Breastfeeding Day commemorative event in Bekwai that exclusive breastfeeding also offers significant economic benefits by reducing household expenditure on infant formula, feeding accessories and illness-related healthcare costs.

She said investing in infant nutrition contributes to healthier families, stronger human capital and sustainable regional development.

Ms Adiyiah also called on the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) to strictly enforce the ban on infant formula advertising in accordance with the Breastfeeding Promotion Regulations, 2000 (L.I. 1667), to safeguard breastfeeding and improve child survival outcomes.