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Hospital Goody Bags vs Breastfeeding Advice
Saturday, April 7, 2007
When I had my daughters, each time I was given HUGE goody bags filled with everything from parent brochures and magazines to extra diapers and baby formula samples. In fact, I was given several samples of formula. If I remember correctly, they were all Nestle samples -- or maybe they were Carnation? I'm not quite sure. In any event, each time I simply threw the samples away because I knew with certainty I would be breastfeeding. For me, I was never offended by the samples, nor did I ever think they had no place in the hospital. In all honesty, though, I suppose I never really thought one way or the other about them.Despite how I feel about hospitals giving away formula samples, the difference between pushing free baby formula upon new mothers and encouraging them to breastfeed is sparking a huge debate among hospital maternity wards across the country, and around the world, for that matter
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Some hospitals believe it is their duty as health professionals to encourage breastfeeding among all new mothers. Other hospitals, however, believe that while they should encourage breastfeeding, they also believe it is the ultimate decision of each mother to decide how she will feed her baby. With this policy, these hospitals encourage not only breastfeeding, but also encourage giving away free formula samples for moms who want to bottle-feed. In essence, they believe providing unbiased options will allow moms to make their own informed opinion.
There's no question -- the latter hospitals perpetually prevail. In fact, there are only 55 Baby-Friendly hospitals across the country as designated by the WHO and UNICEF. Want to know the hospitals that encourage breastfeeding and shun free formula samples? Click here to find the entire list of hospitals and birthing centers.
Labels: baby-friendly hospitals and birth centers, news
posted by Jennifer James @ 6:24 AM,
2 Comments:
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At April 10, 2007 6:53 PM,
tanya@motherwearblog said...
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There is some interesting research showing that giving away these bags shortens breastfeeding duration. Maybe because the implicit message coming from the health care provider giving the mom the bag is, "breastfeed your baby, but since it probably won't work out, we're giving you this formula." That, coupled with the lack of support available to most mothers when they run into problems, often means that they begin to supplement and don't ever develop a full milk supply.
To me, the bottom line is that hospitals should not be in the business of advertising for anyone - drug companies, formula companies (which are the same!), medical supply companies, etc. I want unbiased medical advice for my family. -
At April 12, 2007 7:33 AM,
Jennifer said...
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You're right. It's just wrong and for most hospitals to still condone and accept paid, corporate placement of formula and coupons is unconscionable.
