the best formula

having been breastfeeding for nearly 5 months, i fully understand that the success to breastfeed depends greatly on how much you yourself believe in it, how much effort you are willing to give, and how much support your important others give you. to me, i'm really fortunate to have the full support of mac, my parents and in-laws who truly appreciate the benefits of breastmilk. but to my astonishment, there are still mothers of our age and education level who are actually proud that their babies are fed with forumla, the japanese brands in particular. and i can't believe that some mothers whom i met at the hospital have actually decided to feed their babies with formula from the very first day of their lives, without even trying...

the rthk programme 鏗鏘集 will talk about how the marketing strategies of forumla manufacturers lead us to believe that their formula is the best one. the programme will be aired on July 9 7 pm on Jade, and can also been viewed online on the RTHK website afterwards. i really hope that breastfeeding mothers will become the majority in hong kong soon, and not an under-priviledged group anymore.

and salute to all mothers who have already fulfilled their milkie roles, are still breastfeeding or at least tried their best to give their babies the best start in life.

「最好的配方」編導:張詠賢

自從香港電台<鏗鏘集>播出「牛奶是否有益?」的節目後，引來很多觀眾的關注。現在我們會繼續製作一輯名為「最好的配方」的節目。

偏食兒童應飲補充營養的奶粉？半歲後應轉奶粉？DHA,ARA,HA可以令小朋友更聰明？小朋友應該食奶粉食到十二歲?奶粉配方已經越來越接近母乳成份．．．．．．奶粉廣告不斷向大眾宣傳的同時，事實是否這樣呢?

現在奶粉廣告鋪天蓋地，但是原來世界衛生組織和聯合國兒童基金會頒佈《國際母乳代用品銷售守則》，守則的精神是可以發售母乳代用品，但不可以用平日慣常的商業手法推銷。但是利字當頭，奶粉商仍會用盡一切方法，擴大他們的市場。

在菲律賓，在猛烈的廣告攻勢，很多女性開始認爲一些人工嬰兒食品甚至要比母乳還好。然而，在發展中國家，由於水源不潔和環境衛生惡劣，母乳餵哺尤其重要，據世界衛生組織估計，2003年，菲律賓有16000名5歲以下的兒童因沒有得到母乳餵哺已死亡，其中原因包括使用“嬰兒配方”奶粉。因此菲律賓決定立法禁2歲以下的奶粉廣告及禁止醫護人員推介奶粉品牌,但是奶粉商反而指斥菲律賓政府違反自由貿易的原則而告上法庭。

香港有不少奶粉公司都成立了「媽咪會」、「BB會」，派發樣本與各式禮物，並舉行育嬰講座。初生嬰兒奶粉雖無廣告，但持續奶粉廣告卻排山倒海而來。更多家長認為，奶粉商送禮、送樣本、賣廣告，並不影響餵哺決定，但是大家又有沒有想過哺乳的問題不只是選擇的問題，更是一個公共健康的課題呢? 菲律賓的例子可能可以給我們一點啟示。

有關節目將於7月9日晚上(星期一)七時於TVB播出.