Producing educational videos & online materials for parents on bottle feeding

The Covid-19 pandemic has necessitated significant changes in the way that education and information for new parents are delivered by maternity and health visiting services. Many activities that were carried out face-to-face are being moved to a video or online platform for parents to access, such as antenatal education classes, hospital discharge information and sessions for parents in the postnatal period.

Whilst this has many benefits in terms of consistency of information and enabling flexibility of access, as with other materials, there is also the potential to undermine key Baby Friendly messages if the content is not developed carefully. This is particularly relevant to information relating to bottle / formula feeding, as it is important that this information is communicated sensitively and effectively without appearing to promote formula feeding or to inadvertently undermine breastfeeding. All such material must also be in line with the requirements of the UK law and the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes (the Code).

For our full collection of statements and infosheets, please view our dedicated statement page. Guidance and resources for health professionals during the pandemic can be found here.