Baby milk prices punish those who don't breastfeed - BBC

In its interim report into infant formula, the CMA suggested better education about formula so that parents are not swayed by undue loyalty due to advertising by a brand.

It also suggested the government could buy formula from a third party to sell at a lower price under NHS branding.

However, a former director of a baby formula manufacturer, who wished to remain anonymous, told the BBC the introduction of an NHS-branded product would create a “race to the bottom”, with companies lowering the quality of their formula to compete for the cheapest price.

He said with any other product, supermarkets would "play hard ball on margins" with suppliers. But with baby milk, parents had fierce loyalty towards their favoured brand so if a supermarket demanded too low a price, a supplier would just take the product somewhere else, he said.

He also claimed some baby milk products were branded and priced differently despite being made in the same factory with the same ingredients.

Meanwhile, the boss of parenting site Mumsnet said the government was treating baby milk like tobacco, with the restrictions on advertising.

“The way it's been regulated, we totally get that it’s an effort to increase breastfeeding rates. But, let’s be frank, that simply hasn’t worked," said Justine Roberts.

"The UK has some of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the world… and all it’s done is raise the cost of formula for some parents.”

James Gilmartin from Manchester has nine-month old twins, one of whom was born with fluid on the lung.

“Getting enough breastmilk for her was quite challenging. It had to be enough for her to gain enough weight to get her off the hospital machines, so it was suggested we use formula,” he says.

His partner took a hybrid approach using breast milk and formula, and eventually went with just formula.

“As with a lot of newborns they had digestion issues affecting their bowel movements so we were told to go for a better baby formula - Cow & Gate Comfort which is easier to digest."

An 800g tub cost £14 and with two kids to feed, James and his partner were going through two and a half tubs a week, spending well over £100 a month.

“I find the ban on price promotions completely disgusting and verging on discrimination," says James.

Nelson Dean from London was also taken aback by the high cost of formula.

His son was born in September and is fed on a mixture of formula and breast milk.

Family friends recommended Kendamil, which costs £15 a tin and lasts his son about a week.

If anything, rather than not allowing promotions on formula, Nelson thinks parents should be given help towards the cost.

"With the price of everything else going up, I expected there would be some assistance for essential things like baby milk," he says.

Additional reporting by Bernadette McCague and Rozina Sini.