Why do poor uneducated women bottle feed their children? Because many are given "free samples" of baby milk formula, enough for one week, before the baby is born. Once the baby drinks from a bottle, however, it will not suckle from the breast. The mother is therefore required to buy tins of milk formula until the child is weaned.

The "free gift" is a deliberate plan by baby food manufacturers to ensure that sales of their products remain high. For the price of a free tin of baby food, the manufacturer is guaranteed a year's sales of infant formula. The sample baby food is often given out in ante-natal clinics by employees of the companies or even by nursing and medical staff in maternity wards.

The problem is made worse by the perception of bottle feeding as "sophisticated" and a status symbol, images promoted by the widespread use of advertising.

Despite attempts to restrain baby milk manufacturers from these practices, they continue to break their own voluntarily imposed guidelines on unethical marketing practices because the profits are considerable. Companies such as Cow & Gate and Nestle (who own Dairy Farm in Hong Kong) continue to promote baby formula in unethical ways, often aided and abetted by HCPs.