The formula milk: Money-dependent smartness

It is not uncommon for us to see bright and smart kids on TV. Every time we watch TV we see advertisements about baby formula that show that smart happy kids consume those products.

But the reality is different.

In one part of Indonesia, a baby named Zulfa is suffering from malnutrition. She is eight months old and weighs only 4.5 kilograms.

It was discovered that Zulfa had consumed formula since the day she was born. The nurse who helped her delivery fed her formula and since then her mother has worked hard to buy expensive formula milk.

Later, she began diluting the formula to save money. No wonder her baby’s body did not grow
properly.

The story above is an example of how formula milk does not work in developing countries. That idea is what the Indonesian Breastfeeding Mothers Association (AIMI) is struggling to spread.

They report that story on their website. AIMI fought hard for every mother’s right to breastfeed and reject formula.

But again, the reality is different.

In Indonesia, many mothers feed their babies with formula milk. Although they are also persuaded by the hospital — many of which have agreements with the manufacturer — most are persuaded by advertisements on TV. They believe formula milk products will help their babies grow to become smart and bright kids.

However, we can tackle this
propaganda. Being smart, just like any other human psychological characteristics, can be influenced by a unique combination of nature and nurture.

Natural factors come from ge-netics and nurture comes from a child’s upbringing and the environment.

Different from breastfeeding — which can be classified as a natural contributor to a baby’s health —, nourishment from formula milk can be classified as both a natural and nurturing factor.

It can be classified as a natural factor because the nutrients inside the formula are specific materials that will react uniquely with the body. But, at the same time, the economic value of formula milk can be classified as nurturing because the quality of the product is subject to the economic situation of the parents.

With poor parents, milk formula can become the cause of nutritional uncertainty. Zulfa’s parents are a case in point: They watered down the product to save money. As a consequence, their baby suffered from malnutrition. Surely this kind of condition does not produce bright kids.

In addition, looking at Indonesian history, many smart thinkers emerged from an era in which there was no formula milk at all. Examples are Sukarno, Hatta, Pramoedya Ananta Toer, etc.

I believe none of them consumed any synthetic food or milk and all of them are now remembered for their great contributions to Indonesia.

But don’t think that we are biologically different from our founding forefathers. Such changes require a long time. Compared to the emergence of the first anatomically modern humans — who originated 200,000 years ago — the time-gap between us and Sukarno’s smart generation is only a small tiny fraction on the timeline of modern humans’ development.

So I am confident that there is no difference in our physiology. Our babies can still consume natural food like breast milk.

Milk is not the only factor that determines a baby’s intelligence. The dynamic condition in the economy and the psychology of the baby’s parents (nurture) has the biggest affect on their intelligence. So it’s time for us to be skeptical about the advertisements and lend our support to breastfeeding programs for every mother in Indonesia.

The writer is a science journalist.