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October 2011 Moms
New AAP recs re: formula marketing
This discussion has been closed.
Re: New AAP recs re: formula marketing
It's not because the women who plan to BF are over-sensitive. Barring medical reasons, hospitals should be encouraging women to breastfeed. Unless they know that you can't, they should be working from the assumption that you're going to do the healthiest thing. Without medical reasons, you should have to opt out of that healthiest thing. Like PP said, to the AAP, this is a public health issue, not an individual don't-make-me-feel-bad-about-myself issue. Free gift bags are directly counter to that mission.
Some of these posts make it sound like some women are so stupid that if the hospital offers them the option of ff they will take it because clearly, they don't know any better. I said in my hypothetical that they wouldnt know until they went to the pedi, I never claimed women werent taking babies to their doctors.
Honestly, I couldn't physically feel when my milk came in, the only way I knew was from pumping, so I would have had no idea she wasn't eating. And I'm pretty well educated and informed.
You can be encouraging of one thing while still telling people about all of their options.
My first thought was that I wonder what the ratio of BF vs. FF is in the USA. Does anyone happen to know?
I suppose I can ask Google :0)
Without looking anything up, I think the majority of babies are BFed at birth, and the vast majority are FFed by six months,
Yes, you are correct. https://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/pdf/2011BreastfeedingReportCard.pdf
74% of woman have ever breastfed
35% EBF at 3 months
14% EBF at 6 months
Of course you can. But what does that have to do with sending everyone home with a gift bag and free samples? The fact that formula exists is not something that women learn in the hospital.
I know it is hard to have these conversations because you are right, it does make women sound study. But study after study and survey after survey has shown the impact of the detrimental impact of formula samples in the hospital and of formula in the house to the success of exclusively breastfeeding. I don't think it means that women are stupid. But when are are a new mom, and scared that you are going to hurt/starve your baby, and the formula is there it is easy to "give in".
I also never felt my milk come in. I just knew because the baby would have milk drip down his face.
I can understand why you felt bombarded. I saw formula everywhere - at my OB, at the hospital and at the pedi. It gave me the mistaken impression that most people (or at least a very significant part of the population) fail at breastfeeding. It really shook my confidence, actually. I was expecting failure before we even started. I must have asked every nurse and every doctor in the dang hospital if E was ok BFing, if I was doing it right, or if I needed to give her a little formula to "hold her over" until my milk came in (figuring thats why they had it waiting for me in my hospital room). Fortunately, they were all very reassuring and told me that she was absolutely fine and didn't need formula. Their support got us off to an excellent start.
Having the samples in my house may have also made it easier for me to start supplementing (for convenience, not necessity, since I didn't like pumping at work) when E was about 4 months old. I might have held out longer if I hadn't had a stockpile of free samples (which I kept, expecting that BFing somehow wouldn't work like it was supposed to). I would have definitely thought more about it if I'd had to actively go to the store, pull out my wallet and pay for it. And, of course, once I started supplementing, my supply tanked, and that was the end of that! We were basically done by 6 mo.
ETA: Obviously, I consider myself an educated, informed person and had read/researched BF-ing. But all that education didn't mean jack-squat in the face of the fatigue and anxiety I experienced after childbirth.
I agree with the PP that stated why they think formula should be available. At the hospital where I delivered they had formula available for the babies in the nurses area only. In our rooms there were some bags on the shelf and if you looked inside there would be a small can of formula, some coupons, but a ton of other stuff that would be useful to a new Mom. When I had to begin FF thew nurse who was my lactation consultant told me that she would bring by samples for me as the mothers who chose to BF would take the bag of goodies and just leave behind the cans. She also brought by a ton of samples from the nurses station so I could try different formulations and brands to see what was working best for DS. When DS had to go on Nutramigen my Dr gave me many samples to help defray the cost. He got them out of a closet in the hallway. I tried to BF but had to quit when DS was 3 mos. I never had formula shoved on me by anyone. Most of the crap I have gotten was from completely insensitive and self-righteous BF moms although I did have BF moms that were supportive.
I don't think FF should be shoved down anyone's throat but I don't think there is anything wrong with samples being given to Moms who do FF. It seems that the AAPs stance is too far reaching...kind of like prohibition.
And to the PP who made a comment about a store open 24-hr within a 15 mile radius...I know that comment wasn't directed at me but I had to laugh at that one because if it was directed at me my answer would have been no.
I never got a gift bag with free samples, if you do get one and don't want the formula, leave them in the hospital room. No one is forcing you to take it.
The fact that 'breast is best' is not something women exclusively learn in the hospital, either.
Pin the goodie bag I got - not at the hospital - were formula coupons. And a sh!tload of breastfed ding supplies. Nipple cream, breast pads, milk storage bags, stuff like that. It really isn't a one way street.
I think you're making some gross generalizations. Some places do have a lot of support for BFing moms. My hospital had free lactation consultants there 24 hours a day and they have a 24-hour call line when you go home. The hospital also has weekly "moms groups" that support BFing in the group. I do agree that this sort of support needs to happen in more places than it already does.
That is very true and you are correct. It would have been more appropriate for me to say that there is not much support where I live and there needs to be more support in my area. Point taken and thank you for making this correction.