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Women breastfeed babies during an event, at Chapultepec Park in Mexico City
Women breastfeed babies during an event, at Chapultepec Park in Mexico City. Photograph: Henry Romero/Reuters
Women breastfeed babies during an event, at Chapultepec Park in Mexico City. Photograph: Henry Romero/Reuters

Mexico bans free baby formula in bid to boost low breastfeeding rates

This article is more than 8 years old

Just one in seven mothers in Mexico breastfeeds exclusively in the first six months, as the World Health Organisation recommends

The Mexican government says it will no longer allow giveaways of baby formula at hospitals and clinics in a bid to boost low breastfeeding rates.

The federal health risks oversight agency said on Tuesday anyone can still buy formula at stores, and it can be supplied at a doctor’s request or for research purposes.

But the agency argued free samples must be excluded from private and public hospitals “because it is a commercial practice that may discourage breastfeeding.”

Only one in seven mothers in Mexico breastfeeds exclusively in the first six months, as the World Health Organisation recommends. Mexico’s rate is among the lowest in Latin America.

Mother’s milk is richer than formula in nutrients and antibodies that protect newborns from infections.

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