Originally Posted By Darkbeer <a href="http://wcbstv.com/local/local_story_212165519.html" target="_blank">http://wcbstv.com/local/local_ story_212165519.html</a> >>First they moved against smoking, and then trans fats. Now, city health officials are taking on the bottle -- as in a baby's bottle. On Tuesday they announced a new campaign to promote breastfeeding instead of using formula. Baby bottles beware. City hospitals don't want you around. Instead, they want infants to eat at Mom's instead. "We're producing it. Why not give it to the baby," new mother Mashia Nelson said. The push toward breastfeeding means a ban on freebie formula when you leave the hospital. "It was just the diaper bag and formula information and formula and we don't do that here anymore," Nelson said.<<
Originally Posted By x Pirate_Princess x I think this is way too harsh. As an advocate for breastfeeding, I am more interested in the mother and her family making the best decision for the family. Some mothers can't breastfeed. They are taking medication, they have certain diseases that will pass through the breastmilk, or some just can't produce enough to sustain her baby. There are many situations where a mother can't or won't breastfeed her baby. The hospital should offer information to promote breastfeeding, but should not ban formula. And I *still* use the diaper bag the hospital gave me almost 3 years ago. I had to use the formula that came in it because my daughter was insatiable. However, once I started breastfeeding, she didn't want the formula. At all. Period. When she started day care at 6 months, she wouldn't take it. I think the option should be there for mothers and families who choose to use it. And I think that Enfamil or the other one, who sponsor the diaper bags, also have breastfeeding bags, that have no formula and information and encouragement for breastfeeding.
Originally Posted By wahooskipper I am all for breasts. Sorry, I had to exploit the one place I could avoid getting admin'd. In all seriousness, my kids were breastfed but they still need the occassional bottle from time to time. I've got no problem with people putting their kids on formula. In some cases it is the only alternative.
Originally Posted By DlandJB Silly and impractical. Some women pump their breast milk for their babies. Are they suggesting they can't feed their babies that way either? And what about children that fail to thrive or mother's that have to take medications that prevent them from nursing? I think this belongs in the "please mind your own business" file.
Originally Posted By imadisneygal While I definitely think this is a personal decision, I have seen many hospitals push formula on new mothers. Personally I'd like to see it available but I'd also like to see more lactation support specialists available to new mothers. Breastfeeding is hard work, particularly in the very beginning, and for a new mother who is exhausted and has sore breasts I suppose formula sounds like a great alternative. I personally know three women who asked for breastfeeding assistance while still in the hospital and were told that the one specialist who was employed there was off that day or simply that there wasn't one available. One of them was told "Just use the formula, you'll get more sleep and someone else can feed the baby!" Sometimes it's not just a need to feed formula but a lack of lactation support that leads to the decision to stop breastfeeding. I'd like to see a combination of increased lactation specialists available to new mothers and also less judgment against mothers who choose not to breastfeed. The free formula can be an easy fix when you're tired. And it's just a marketing ploy to get new parents to use a particular brand. I think it's fine to stop giving away free formula to every new baby in the hospital, particalarly since it's not the recommended form of feeding. But it should be available for babies who need it, and mothers who don't want to breastfeed can bring their own to the hospital with them. Some moms just know from the time they get pregnant that they won't be breastfeeding. They can prepare for the baby by bringing formula in their overnight bag to the hospital. Ultimately the decision is personal, but not giving away the free can of formula isn't going to have much of an effect on moms who choose to formula feed, and may up the chances of some mothers breastfeeding. I'd still like to see the diaper bag given away though! I still have the one I got from Enfamil even though I donated my formula to a local women's shelter.
Originally Posted By imadisneygal I also wanted to say that I understand this article to read that the free formula is going away. Not all bottles, etc. Bottles should still be available to anyone who wants or needs them. The free formula seems to be the point of contention.
Originally Posted By x Pirate_Princess x I agree about still giving away the diaper bag. Have some with the formula for those who choose to or need to formula feed. but also offer the diaper bag with breast pads, relief cream, and pamphlets on effective breastfeed along with the lactation support. I had a LLL consultant come to me in the hospital with my first daughter, but not my second. They were in 2 different hospitals about 20 miles from each other but in totally different neighborhoods.
Originally Posted By halley123 They can't force women to breast feed. A lot of women can't feed their children on breast milk alone because their bodies don't produce enough. Also I wasn't breast fed as a child and I've only been sick 5 times in my entire life. You don't need to be breast fed to be healthy.
Originally Posted By imadisneygal Be that as it may, it's still the recommended form of feeding babies in most circumstances. It is an extremely rare case that a woman cannot produce enough milk to feed her baby. It happens, but more often it's the case that the mother does not want to breastfeed and therefore starts supplementing with formula right away. When a mother doesn't breastfeed regularly she produces less milk. And absolutely no one is trying to force women to breastfeed. They're trying to stop formula companies from marketing to new mothers by giving them a can of formula while they are still in the hospital, that's all. This article is about the free formula provided in hospitals, not about forced breastfeeding. The final decision is up to the mother and no one else. But she should have all of the information available - and that is that breast milk is the best choice of food for babies. Anecdotal evidence that many of us (including me) were not breastfed and are very healthy is great, but it's not a reason to say that breastfeeding isn't necessary.
Originally Posted By jonvn Yes, it's reccomended, but it's not required, and millions have gotten by without it. It's simply not necessary. It's better, but you don't have to do it to have a healthy child.
Originally Posted By mele Honestly, it seems like most women are so tired and stressed that they aren't able or willing to put in the extra effort it takes to learn to breastfeed. It can be quite difficult and even quite painful and most women just give up too soon. (Anybody heard the gossip that Britney Spears puts soft drinks (soda) in her sons' baby bottles? How's that for disgusting?)
Originally Posted By imadisneygal ^^^I totally agree, Mele. It is hard work and some women do not want to put in the effort. The choice is theirs, but I wish they had more support. My sister-in-law did that thing with the soda in the bottles. Diet, even. And sweet tea. My niece was alredy toddling around by then, but still! Gross.
Originally Posted By TomSawyer My wife would have loved to have been able to breastfeed our daughter, but we had to rely on the breastpump and bottles to get any food in the kid for the first couple of weeks. Once she was used to the bottle, she didn't go back to the breast. Don't assume that a mother who doesn't breastfeed is doing it by choice.
Originally Posted By imadisneygal I definitely know that there are mothers who desperately want to breastfeed and can't. I did not mean to imply that there are no mothers in this situation. There are certainly circumstances under which babies will not breastfeed. I think that part of the issue is when hospitals push the formula/bottle combination in newborns who do not otherwise need it (obviously it sounds like it was the only way your daughter would eat so it was the perfect choice for you and your wife, Tom) then just like you experienced some babies will not alternate between the breast and the bottle. It is definitely necessary in some situations, and it's not always by the mother's choice.
Originally Posted By imadisneygal And before it gets said, NO, I do not believe in curbing the reproductive rights of anyone regardless of whether or not I agree with their religious affiliation. I am pointing out a reason that this particular situation bothers me. Of course they are free to have as many children as they can afford - and they can clearly afford them all.
Originally Posted By imadisneygal ^^^^^YIKES! That goes in the thread about the 17 children. Sorry!!!
Originally Posted By x Pirate_Princess x lso I wasn't breast fed as a child and I've only been sick 5 times in my entire life. You don't need to be breast fed to be healthy. ----------- And my oldest wasn't, and she's rarely sick; but my youngest was exclusively after the first week, and she is ALWAYS sick!
