The Ministry of Health in Kenya has announced a ban on feeding bottles effective from May 28th.
This comes after Parliament recently passed into law the Breast Milk Supplements (BMS) Regulation and Control Act of 2012, which listed the bottles used for feeding infants as designated products, meaning items that are within the scope of regulation by the law.
“The reason they are regulated is that whatever content is fed (to a baby) using bottles is not breast milk, but often non-nutritious fluid,” Esther Mogusu, the principal nutrition and dietetics officer at Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS), noted.
“The teat from which the child feeds is made of silicon, which does not have the same texture as the breast nipple, and this causes what is known as nipple confusion, leading to a refusal to breastfeed by the baby,” she told the Nation.
Mogusu further explained that suckling from a bottle causes pressure on the inner ear, and children will suffer recurrent ear inflammation.
The teat also causes misalignment of the jaw because of the fact that a child has to bite on it, leading to dental caries because of the sugar from the fluid in the bottle.
Bottles are not easy to clean because they have multiple grooves and often hide bacteria and microorganisms, making them difficult to clean by hand, causing frequent diarrhea and infections in children.
According to experts, bottle use often interferes with breastfeeding.
From May 28, bottles, teats, pacifiers, and cups with spouts will not be allowed as containers for use when it comes to feeding babies in Kenya.
The NMS principal highlighted that manufacturers of baby foods, including infant formula, complementary feeds, and baby feeding equipment, will be expected to comply with the standards and general regulations outlined in the law, the NMS principal highlighted.