ArticleBMJ global health2023
How the marketing practices of commercial milk formula companies impact infant breastfeeding practices in China.
Article in BMJ global health, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.
- Nurturing People and Planet: Breastfeeding in Climate Mitigation and Adaptation.Frontiers in sustainable food systems · 2026Article
- Enjoying the Free Menu? Discoursing the Barriers to Exclusive Breastfeeding for Improved Maternal and Child Health in Tanzania: A Review of Evidence.Health science reports · 2026Review
- Formative Research for the Development and Implementation of a Smartphone Application to Report Breaches to the International Code of Marketing of Breast-Milk Substitutes in Mexico.Maternal & child nutrition · 2025Article
- The urgent need to end sponsorship of healthcare professional associations by the commercial milk formula industry.Future healthcare journal · 2025Article
- Breastfeeding: The Multifaceted Impact on Child Development and Maternal Well-Being.Nutrients · 2025Review
- Formula Labelling in the United Kingdom: Manufacturers' Compliance With the Code, UK Law and Guidance Notes.Maternal & child nutrition · 2025Article
- Assessing Compliance: Violations of WHO Code in Breast Milk Substitute Marketing, Ecuador.Maternal & child nutrition · 2025Article
- Attitudes and Barriers of Polish Women towards Breastfeeding-Descriptive Cross-Sectional On-Line Survey.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Determinants of Formula Feeding among Mothers in Indonesia: The Role of Digital Media and Microeconomic Factors.Iranian journal of nursing and midwifery researchArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe marketing practices used by commercial milk formula (CMF) companies undermine breast feeding. However, it remains unclear how specific types of marketing practices result in suboptimal breast feeding.
objectivesWe aimed to examine the associations of CMF marketing practices with breastfeeding outcomes, determine the influencing pathways, how it changes the perceptions and attitudes of mothers towards CMF, and how it impacts breastfeeding outcomes.
methodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted in Beijing and Jinan, China that mapped the CMF marketing practices in 2020. Mothers were interviewed about the feeding practices for the youngest child under the age of 18 months. Maternal attitude towards CMF was assessed using a set of five questions. Six common CMF marketing practices were reviewed. A logistic regression was performed to examine the associations between the CMF marketing practices and predominant breast feeding, with adjustments for maternal age, education, occupation, socioeconomic class and caesarean section. Furthermore, a path analysis was conducted to explore the pathways between the CMF marketing practices, maternal attitude towards CMF and predominant breast feeding.
resultsA total of 750 mothers were interviewed, with 20.0% of mothers predominantly breast feeding their young children. Two marketing practices, online engagement with CMF companies and promotions and discounts, were statistically associated with a lower likelihood of predominant breast feeding, with an adjusted ORs of 0.53 (95% CI 0.35 to 0.82) and 0.45 (95% CI 0.22 to 0.92). Furthermore, per CMF marketing practice increase mothers concurrently exposed to was associated with a 0.79 (95% CI 0.68 to 0.92) times lower likelihood of predominant breast feeding. In addition, online engagement and free formula samples distributed in hospitals had indirect effects on suboptimal breastfeeding outcomes, which was partly mediated by positive maternal attitude towards CMF.
conclusionsCMF marketing practices were associated with a lower likelihood of optimal breastfeeding through influencing the maternal attitude towards CMF.
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