Monitoring Tool

Background

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that infants begin breastfeeding at birth and exclusively breastfeed for the first 6 months to ensure optimal health and nutrition. After this period, nutritionally adequate and safe complementary foods can be introduced while continuing to breastfeed for up to two years or beyond. However, in Australia, although more than 90% of mothers initiate breastfeeding, only 35% of infants are exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months.

The aggressive marketing of breast milk substitutes (BMS) has been shown to undermine breastfeeding intention, initiation, exclusivity, and duration. The International Code of Marketing of Breast milk Substitutes (The Code), adopted by the World Health Assembly in 1981, provides guidelines for countries to regulate the marketing of BMS to protect breastfeeding. Australia has been a signatory to this code, with the Marketing in Australia of Infant Formula: Manufacturers and Importers (MAIF) Agreement serving as the country’s self-regulatory framework for over two decades.