Everyone knows that I breastfed all of my children. I never used formula. I have a lot of friends that do formula feed their children and I was always in shock about how much it cost! It seemed they felt the need to buy the expensive brands thinking that meant they were better.
Mead Johnson falsely advertised that they were indeed better than the store brands. The store brands being much more affordable are actually nutritionally equivalent to, and confer the same developmental benefits of the more expensive name brand formulas.
PBM store-brand infant formulas have the same nutrients at the same levels as Enfamil. PBM infant formulas are formulated to contain DHA and ARA, and are sourced from the same supplier in amounts which equal or exceed the DHA and ARA in Mead Johnson’s Enfamil LIPIL®.
PBM store-brand supplies Walmart, Sam’s Club, Target, Kroger and Walgreens with their store-brand infant formulas. I hope that this information helps put parents at ease. It’s really sad that parents felt they had to spend more money to be sure that their babies were getting the best.
So, while I still think breast is best…if you do formula feed this should release you from the pressure of spending more money when you know the products are of the same quality.
If you would like to read more information about this issue and the lawsuit, please visit the following links:
- http://www.pbmproducts.com/press.aspx?ID=310
- http://industry.bnet.com/advertising/10004868/a-desperate-mead-johnson-loses-135m-jury-verdict-over-false-claims/
- http://www.brandweek.com/bw/content_display/esearch/e3i6328aaffeb014c13fbcc5dbedc3d4fd7
- http://blogs.consumerreports.org/baby/2009/07/save-money-on-baby-stuff-cheap-formula.html
