1. Wide of protest with mothers baring their breasts
2. Mid of protester bearing breasts with "Yes to Breastfeeding" written on her
3. Pan of protest
4. Mid of protester
5. Wide of protesters crowded by media
6. SOUNDBITE: (Tagalog/ English) Ines Fernandes, Save the Babies Coalition:
"They should listen to the grievances of Filipino mothers. Stop milk marketing. We are blaming milk companies - they caused misery, malnutrition and death."
7. Tight of mother's chest with body paint reading: "God's Milk is Good Life"
8. SOUNDBITE: (Tagalog/ English) Ines Fernandes, Save the Babies Coalition:
"We import their products but our babies are getting sick. Breastfeeding, there is no substitute to breastfeeding."
9. Tight of Supreme Court building
10. Medium of police keeping close watch
11. Tilt down from Supreme Court building to protesters in front
STORYLINE:
The debate over whether new mothers should breastfeed, entered the Philippines' Supreme court on Tuesday, with health officials claiming that aggressive advertising has many women believing that formula milk is better than their own milk.
Bare chested mothers with brightly painted slogans such as "God's milk is life," and "Yes to Breastfeeding" took to the street outside the Supreme Court, to highlight the dangers of formula milk some say are making their babies sick.
"We import their products but our babies are getting sick. Breastfeeding - there is no substitute to breastfeeding," said Ines Fernandes, Save the Babies Coalition.
Fernandes urged the court to "listen to the grievances of Filipino mothers," and called for a "stop to milk marketing."
With breastfeeding rates declining across Asia - just 35 percent of mothers breastfeed exclusively for their baby's first six months, the Philippines' Health Department last year opted to strengthen its national milk code.
The goal was to make it harder for formula milk companies to target parents of children under age two with advertising of products that claim to foster smarter, stronger babies.
The current regulations ban companies from promoting products for infants younger than one year old.
The World Health Organisation recommends mothers nurse exclusively for the first six months and continue providing milk along with complementary foods until age two.
Research has shown that babies given breast milk develop fewer respiratory and intestinal diseases, and those given formula milk have a greater chance of developing asthma or allergies later in life, along with obesity.
WHO estimates up to 1.45 (m) million children die annually in poor countries because of low breastfeeding rates.
The Philippines' Heath Department claims it has seen a "dramatic decrease" of breastfeeding rates and an increase in profits within milk formula companies.
Many mothers in rapidly developing Asian countries have abandoned beast feeding.
Thailand has the region's lowest exclusive breastfeeding rate during the first six months, with only 5.4 percent of mothers nursing.
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