A new study led by Swansea University has laid bare the devastating impact that soaring infant formula milk prices are having on the health, finances, and mental wellbeing of UK parents and their children.
Funded by the Medical Research Council, the research is the first of its kind in the UK, and the findings reveal families are falling into unmanageable debt, reluctantly adopting feeding practices they know could harm their babies, and even taking formula from shops without paying as a last resort.
Exploring the experiences of 281 struggling parents through surveys and interviews, the study found that financial strain has triggered a severe crisis of anxiety, guilt, and isolation among parents.
Nearly every parent surveyed reported damage to their mental health. For some, the distress is so severe it has led to feelings of regret over having a baby. One participant shared: "Sometimes I regret having this baby and I feel awful about having those thoughts because I love her so much but I'm not a good mum to her."
Driven by the high cost of formula, parents reported a range of drastic coping strategies:
- Compromised infant safety: Almost 40% of parents resorted to unsafe feeding practices, including reusing leftover formula, watering down formula, and reducing sterilisation.
- Extreme personal sacrifices: More than a third of parents (37%) left their homes unheated, 43% fell behind on bills, and nearly half (47%) took on debts that are difficult to repay. For 21% of mothers, it meant cutting maternity leave short to return to work early.
- Cheaper alternatives: Nearly half of the families (48%) introduced solid foods before their baby was ready, or switched to cheaper milk intended for older babies (45%).
- Acts of last resort: Facing absolute desperation, 10% of parents reported taking formula from a shop without paying.
Amy Brown, a Professor of Public Health at Swansea University, who led the study, said: "Infant formula prices were high before the cost-of-living crisis, and rose up to 45% between 2021 and 2023. A recent report by the Competition and Markets Authority identified excessive price rises for infant formula and exceptionally high profit margins of between 50-75%.
"This is a significant issue because infant formula is not a discretionary product. When infants are not breastfed or not fully breastfed, infant formula is needed to support growth and development. The worrying and rapid changes in the formula market coincide with the broader cost-of-living crisis, with many families already struggling to get by."
More than half of babies in the UK receive formula during their first week, with 88% receiving some formula milk by six months of age. Low-income households are far more likely to use formula to feed their babies. Globally, fewer than half of infants are exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life.
Many mothers featured in the study had wanted to breastfeed their baby but had been unable to get the support to do so. This left them feeling particularly guilty, anxious and let down twice when they then struggled to afford the formula their baby needed.
Professor Brown added: "We expected our research to reflect some of the experiences we had been seeing in the media but were shocked at how many families it was affecting and how deeply.
"Mothers described how the lack of support and action on the issue had left them feeling heartbroken and feeling like they had failed. Some attributed it to causing postnatal depression, especially when they really wanted to breastfeed and felt as if they had let their baby down twice.
"Our research shows that we urgently need more holistic support across infant feeding that both ensures more women who want to breastfeed can do so, and those who are using formula have reliable access to affordable products that put babies and parents first. This would help to ensure greater infant food security, protecting both infant health and nutrition but wider development and family wellbeing."
Published in Maternal and Child Nutrition, the study 'Infant formula affordability negatively impacts parental wellbeing, financial security and safe feeding practices in the UK' v was carried out in collaboration with Cardiff Metropolitan University, University of Hertfordshire, First Steps Nutrition Trust, Leicester Mammas, the Independent Food Aid Network, and the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
