Mother’s milk/formula milk (Ecuador)

Feeding with formula milk spread among all populations between the 70s and 90s, with serious consequences, especially in poorer countries where infant death increased significantly. In rich countries, like Great Britain, a significant increase of children with kidney problems was detected, and paediatricians raised the alarm which finally led to a reduction in the electrolytes in the cows’ milk used.

After over 10 years of struggle, the WHO Assembly adopted the International Code for the Commercialisation of Mothers’ Milk Substitutes and many governments started regulating the commercialising of these products; manufacturers generally put a stop to the more scandalous publicity and put a warning on packets to say that mothers’ milk was healthier.

Breastfeeding by the mother has remained quite high in Ecuador up to the present day, when 55% of women still start early lactation and 40% continue up to six months. Indigenous women in the Ecuadorian Amazon show higher rates of breastfeeding than the country as a whole.