A reminder: What YOU can do to challenge conflicts of interest (such as the upcoming formula-sponsored British Journal of Midwifery conference)

We have compiled a comprehensive list of suggestions for what healthcare professionals can do if they identify conflicts of interest, especially relating to challenging the inappropriate marketing of breastmilk substitutes or commercial milk formula targeting health professionals. See the suggestions provided on our First Steps Nutrition Trust website here.

The annual British Journal of Midwifery (BJM) conference is taking place on Tuesday 31 March 2026, with sponsors including Kendamil and Nutricia (Danone). We have previously written public letters to the conference organisers, have had commentaries published in the British Medical Journal, and we have directly emailed the conference organisers, but these have not resulted in any changes to the conference sponsorship policy. We encourage other individuals and organisations to send letters to the organisers and/or make public statements to create greater awareness of this problematic conflict of interest. The conference is organised by the Mark Allen publishing group and the names of contact people and their email addresses are available on the conference website here. Perhaps with continued pressure and advocacy, the organisers will change their policies in future, and/or fewer health professionals will attend and/or fewer speakers will agree to present at such conferences.