Struggling parents too scared to ask for free baby milk - charity

Families are too scared to ask for help in getting baby milk formula, a charity has warned

Struggling parents are too scared to ask for help getting baby milk, a charity has warned.

The Chester-based KidsBank charity said families are fearful they may "lose their children" if they admit they cannot afford to feed them.

Some parents had even resorted to watering formula down to make it last longer, it claimed.

The charity has now introduced a scheme whereby parents can access free formula without having to go to their GP.

In July 2023, Kidsbank took part in an initial scheme whereby parents had to approach a professional such as a GP, health visitor or teacher to request a referral to get free baby milk.

But only 20 families accessed it during the six months it was in operation, and no families came back for a repeat referral, the charity said.

'Huge fear factor'

This sparked alarm bells, and when the charity asked parents about the scheme, they said they were consistently told that it was a "fear factor" that was stopping people asking for help.

Dee Denton, KidsBank operations manager, said: "What we found was that there was a huge huge fear factor in families approaching a professional because their fear was that in doing so, for formula, would be to highlight that they were struggling to feed their baby and therefore that would lead to, ultimately, them losing their children through a referral to social services," she added.

KidsBank staff Becky Kenton, Dee Denton and Katie Knott

"That was something that weighed heavily on us, as a charity."

Since this new initiative has been introduced, the charity, which covers Cheshire and Flintshire, North Wales, said it had already seen a marked rise in demand, including repeat referrals.

Ms Denton added: "We were receiving feedback that families were faced with no other option but to take measures such as watering down formula, putting baby rice into the milk or, in many examples, weaning their child early because the cost of providing food was less than providing for a tin of formula."

KidsBank, which relies on donations of infant milk formula for the scheme, is also able to supply vouchers downloadable to phones to enable parents to purchase infant milk from shops.

Th self-referral scheme comes as concerns have been raised about the cost of baby milk, with the UK infant formula market under investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

The price of formula has risen by 25% over two years, according to an initial report published in November, with an average tin now costing £17.50.

The CMA said that prices had fallen a little but remained "at historically high levels".

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