There are a lot of ways you can describe formula. Expensive. Annoying to make with the cleaning of the bottles and the mixing if you get powder. What is needed if you don't breastfeed. And contraband. As of now, in Massachusetts, new mothers will not be getting free formula samples to take home with them. And it's all an effort of encouragement. To help babies get the best start. To help moms.
I believe some time around the advent of formula, the master plan was to get people to think the synthetic breastmilk was better than the real thing straight from mama. But the thing is, we didn't know very well back then. We painted things with lead, made things with BPA, you know, did things that have jeopardized our health, unknowingly.
Then somewhere along the line, breasts became completely and totally sexualized and breastfeeding rates plummeted. Which takes us to today where 57 percent of Americans think breastfeeding is an obscene act.
The push of free samples -- that subliminal advertising, that mother's little helper all too tempting for a new mom who may be struggling with nursing her first baby -- is what derails many from giving their babies the best stuff on Earth. The stuff that comes from mom, pure and perfect and everything your baby needs. Breastmilk.
The hard truth is that studies prove that mothers who breastfeed and get those free formula samples when leaving the hospital are less likely to be breastfeeding by the time baby was 1 month old. It's like the anti-breastfeeding serum. And Massachusetts isn't the only state to say no more. The ban on formula samples is happening in many places around the country and soon we may be a no free formula samples in hospitals kind of country.
I realize some will blast all this. Question what the mothers who can't or don't want to breastfeed should do. Act as if the world is ending because *gasp* free samples of formula won't be coming home with new moms in their hospital stash right next to all the extra absorbent maxi pads.
I want to say this: I love formula. It's fantastic. It should be more awesome and companies should be more careful about making it as safe and as great as possible. Many of us need it. But if you want free formula samples, contact the formula companies. You will get them sent to your home and coupons and all that jazz. The banning of the free samples from the hospital is something I applaud even though I know how needed formula is because hospitals should have their patients' best interest in mind. And if a mom wants to breastfeed and has the free sample formula in her home and in a moment of insomnia decides to give baby just one bottle, that one act can ruin a woman's chances of breastfeeding until the recommended 6 months by the American Academy of Pediatrics, or the World Health Organization's 2 years. We shouldn't be ruining chances when it comes to this. There shouldn't be a free temptation, given to a mom at a tender time, a whirlwind moment filled with overwhelming emotions.
Formula is great, and needed, and so necessary for so many. This isn't an attack on formula or those who use it. It's instead an effort to help breastfeeding. At no one's expense.
What do you think of the push to ban formula freebies in hospitals?
Image via nerissa's ring/Flickr
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Comments 111
It is blogs like this that perpetuate the Mommy wars and makes new moms feel like crap if they can't breastfeed. For a lot of new mothers, it isn't about whether they "want" to breastfeed. Some mothers can't breastfeed for whatever reason. There is no reason to make them feel like crap because they have to turn to formula.
Interesting perspective on this... I received several free formula samples when I had my son. One of them was a full-sized can. I never once opened them. I breastfed exclusively until he was 6 months, and then started supplementing on the advice of my pediatrician. The formula was given to a friend who could not breast feed.
I love how breastfeeding advocates assume that a single sample of formula (or even a coupon) is going to cause an otherwise intelligent woman to be completely powerless in her ability to make a decision. Suddenly, holding that sample of formula in her hand is going to cause her to go against everything that she'd been planning for the previous nine months. Such power those formula companies have! And how stupid women must be. Thank goodness we have you breastfeeding "advocates" to show us the error of our ways. How would we EVER survive without your interference?
I am so confused about why everyone is so angry... I don't see how this has anything to do with using formula vs. not using formula. It's simply saying no to a very successful marketing tactic - send home a free sample with every new mom. You really can't tell me that not getting that free sample from the hospital is going to make your baby go hungry - if that is the case, then you are PATHETIC and need to get on public assistance immediately and be ashamed of yourself for not already getting your baby the help he/she needs in order to be fed.
I can totally see why hospitals would stop GIVING formula to new moms in the same breath as encouraging them to breast feed. And if they don't want to breastfeed, that's A-OK too! But put your damned hand back in your pocket - no one owes you free formula.
Im sorry, but the way you feed your child is one very difficult decision that should be thought out and decided upon before giving birth. Assuming that women would stray from their convictions because a couple sample bottles were in the bassinet is just insulting. It also makes me think back to when I had my daughter. My milk NEVER came in. Zero milks! So..was my daughter supposed to starve for those first three days of her life? Or was I just supposed to hop up, yank my IV's out with a fresh c-section cut and head down to the grocery store to pick up a can of formula, real quick like? If they're so worried about the "negative influence" of formula, just keep it on an "ask" basis. And to be fair, at my hospital, I was also offered a free manual pump to take home as well.
And to the commenter who bashed WIC - please honey! Women who breastfeed get WIC too. Its not just about getting formula. Its about trying to help new mothers and their babies reach and keep a good nutritional standard in their lives. If they're not getting formula, they're getting food and I think WIC is a wonderful tool. I use it (because I'm pregnant with my second) and am grateful for it. And its by no means a reflection on the mothers who use it. Not all of us are sitting on our asses collecting welfare and government assistance. It's actually the ONLY assistance my family qualifies for, and if I can get help, I'm taking it.
And to the Lactation consultant that's commenting. I WISH my lac-consultant was informed. All that goofy woman did was come in and manhandle my tits. I learned nothing from her besides "ways" to hold my baby. She didnt even look me in the face or even ASK if it was ok to touch my breasts!