Medical Malpractice - New York is banning baby formula in city hospitals, what do you think?

New York is banning baby formula in city hospitals, what do you think?

I agree that breast milk is best. But not all mothers can breast feed. No one in my family has been able to. And nutritionally deficient or drug addicted mothers should not breast feed. Are they supposed to bring their own formula? I think this is the ultimate infringement on women's rights. I actually only heard what was on the Today show. Thanks for the link, I will read the article.

Public Comments

Seems ridiculous to me. Besides some mother's that can't breastfeed some women choose not to. I know several women that tried and failed with their first 1 or 2 kids so by the time baby number 3 came along they didn't even want to try. That is their right and they should not be judged for that. It was either some judgemental man or some La Leche Legue hardball chick that came up with this.LOL Some of the experiences I had with LLL when I had my kids was that they were really good at making you feel like crap if you didn't breastfeed and fed a lot of guilt to a lot of already stressed out new moms. I do know some wonderful LLL moms but some of them are a bit too jundgmental.
I agree. I think that while breast milk is superior in most cases, it is NOT in all. Your example of the addict and unproductive mothers are two great example. The two chlidren I babysit for are allergic to breast milk. They are lactose intolerant. so what would they do for those chlidren? Especially since you wouldn't know that until AFTER you delivered the babies. I live in NY and I think that it is plain out stupid if they are banning it so people will have to breast feed.
That's outrageous! I was unable to breast feed when I gave birth due to a fever. I am so glad I don't live there any more!
BYOB.... I hear that next it will be diapers... we are suppose to use fig leaves... You can blame this ON WOMEN... Do you think MEN really care... IT is the Liberal Women in this country that think they are smarter than YOU who dictate their ideas by use of FORCE..... Welcome to Women's LIBERATION or should I say SOCIALISM...
I'd have to read the article first. They were banning advertisement of formula- but not breastmilk. I'll search for the article. EDIT: Did the original poster read the article??? Or did you just read the title before posting your own sublime content- which is only 1/2 true: Here is the link to the article: http://www.nypost.com/seven/07312007/news/regionalnews/city_really_is_a_nanny_regionalnews_chuck_bennett.htm IF THEY REQUEST FORMULA- THEY WILL RECEIVE IT!!! When you post something such as this, please add the link to which you read the article so that others may also read it!!!
i agree that is a stupid rule. yes it is better but what if you baby is lactose intolerant or something. or is a preemie and has to be there for months. you are gonna make the poor mother pump... that is not possible in some cases. my sister in law could not pump after her daughterwas injured in in the hospital. it was a very stressful time so they had to use formula on her
Don't be ridiculous -- there'll still be formula for the "drug addicted mothers"... And women who're just too lazy to breastfeed are of course allowed to bring their own Nestlé in with them. "Free formula samples and formula promotional materials are now banned from gift bags given to new mothers at the 11 hospitals run by the city's Health and Hospitals Corp. Instead, new mothers will get a tote bag stuffed with disposable nursing pads, a mini-cooler for breast-milk bottles, and pint-sized T-shirts for the babies that proudly declare "I eat at mom's."" http://www.nypost.com/seven/07312007/news/regionalnews/city_really_is_a_nanny_regionalnews_chuck_bennett.htm (Have you seen formula companies' promotional stuff? It's pretty amoral garbage.) But as for the general getting rid of handing it out for free -- it's the same idea as not allowing people to smoke on hospital grounds. They're both choices, and neither are particularly good ones. Hospitals are under no obligation to support people's crappy health decisions. And women are under no obligation to give birth in hospitals...
i think that it is unfair. I was able to breast feed, but had low milk supply and had the hospital not had formula before my milk came in, my daughter would have gone hungry! Rob-what issue do you have against the LLL? They are wonderful women who help new nursing mothers. Breast is best but if you can't nurse or don't want to, fine. But please don't bash the LLL-they are terrific!
i think new york needs to wise up and change that law back. breast milk is the best but some women don't produce enough to feed the baby or they just choose formula. it's their right to choose what they want to do with their baby, not the hospital's. i agree with you totally.
All women can breast feed, they just do not try hard enough. And they can take their own they just will not give it to them for free anymore. I think the innocents babies rights or more important then the mothers.
That sounds a little extreme to me. I'm sure with every story there are two sides, and they're not allowed to deny a child nourishment so I'm sure in some cases it must be allowed. My second daughter was allergic to breastmilk so she had no choice but to take a special formula. Maybe it's an effort to help increase the number of breastfeeding mothers. I don't direct breastfeed but I pump, perhaps this could be what's happening.
never heard that, but how can they do that when some babies are born with milk alergies? my sister was allergic, and my mom was unable to breastfeed. she was sticktly formula. what do they want babies to do? starve?
I think that it is ridiculous, what happens when there is a latch on problem with the mother that tries very very hard to bf. Do they have to ask the mother next to them to help them out? I know that they have lactation consultants, but w/my first we had such a hard time, w/my second it was so easy. I guess they have to have someone run to the store if it gets too bad. so much for convenience. Maybe the formula companies will send the samples to the house before the baby is due to take to the hospital. I am all for bf, but just because the hospital doesn't carry formula doesn't mean that all mothers will bf or even try.
I find that unbelievable that NY one of the most liberal states would ban formula in hospitals. Are you sure you got the whole story on that?? Maybe it's a proposal not an actual thing that is happening.....I just searched and as I thought it's Bloombergs proposal to ban "FORMULA SAMPLES" to help promote breastfeeding which is ultimately the best food for children. I nurse my 9 mo. but that was my choice we are in the land of the free and have freedom of choice on how to feed our children.
You all need to read the article before freaking out as one such poster did- Ivy b- and actually included the link- something the original poster didn't do. Please do not think NY is going to ban formula- they are not allowing it in the take home bags any longer. It is available upon request to moms. They are encouraging moms to breastfeed- as they should. YOU CANNOT BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU READ ON THE INTERNET AND CERTAINLY NOT ON YAHOO ANSWERS!!! The only 1 who got it right is the one who actually posted the link to the article. stardust- babies cannot be allergic to breastmilk: Note the other link! It is not really possible for your baby to be allergic to your breastmilk. Sometime, however, babies can be sensitive to proteins in the mother's milk from foods she has ingested. There have been some reports of bloody stools in infants who are sensitive to food in their mom's diet. The most common offender is cow's milk protein (Jakobsson I, et al 1985) (Odze et al 1996). If your baby is sensitive to cow's milk protein in your milk, the only way to confirm this is by eliminating all cow's milk products from your diet for at least two weeks, or longer, to allow the bowel time to heal. Eliminating dairy products means you need to avoid milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream and packaged products that list the ingredient casein or whey protein. Occasionally babies are sensitive to other foods in mom's diet, but again, the best way to confirm this is by a two week elimination of that food. http://parenting.ivillage.com/newborn/nbreastfeed/0,,70jn,00.html
Hospitals should market health, and nothing else. I think it's great that hospitals are refusing to market infant formula. It's there for babies that need it, but not pushed on moms as they walk out the door.
I think that that is a crock
Get your facts straight, they're taking away the free handouts. This initiative is called "Baby Friendly" hospitals. You might be smart, but there are women out there that think because the hospital gave it to them, it's better for their babies. Handing out formula at the hospital undermines mothers at their hour of greatest need. They think, well, just this one bottle won't hurt, and before they know it their supply has been ruined and they're stuck in a cycle that puts them and their babies at higher risk. Breastfeeding women are undermined, fed bad information, told ridiculous advice. Pushing formula on them is just one more way to line the pockets of the formula companies at the cost of the health of mother and child. Also, there is no such thing as lactose intolerance to breast milk. Babies can be intolerant of dairy that the MOM consumes; true breast milk allergy is rarer than rare. More than likely, the mom was unwilling to modify her diet. Nutritionally deficient mother's should STILL nurse. Scientific studies have proven that even in famine circumstances, as long as moms had access to water the content of their milk was remarkably similar and nutritious. Nutritionally deficient moms' bodies will grow more deficient but their breast milk will still be close to perfect for their baby. It's this kind of misinformation that leads women to stop or never even start nursing. Even moms who smoke are urged to breastfeed. Although I'm with you on the drug addiction. When you consider the cost to public health of rampant formula feeding (the _unnecessary_ feeding, I'm not talking about medical necessities or situations like adoption) it's about time. We all pay a literal price for unnecessary formula feedings in the cost of higher health care. Statistically speaking, formula fed babies are at 60% greater risk of ear infection, much higher risk of obesity, 40% greater risk of diabetes, 20% more likely to get leukemia and 20% more likely to die in the first year. That's not my _opinion_, that's medical and scientific fact--the government's own numbers. From the article I linked: "The report claims the government could save at least $3.6 billion in direct and indirect health care costs if its breast-feeding goals are met. One of the U.S. Healthy People 2010 breast-feeding goals is to get 75 percent of mothers to breast-feed for the first six months of their baby's life. " Moms' risk of breast and ovarian cancer decreases as well. Women have rights, but so do their babies. I'm glad that there are hospitals that do this, I wish they all did.
My 2girls were born premature after difficult pregnancy because of my health problems(preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, low amniotic fluid) My oldest was only 3lbs and my youngest 2 lbs. I tried both times to breast feed but could only pump because they werent able to eat beacause of problems. I never developed enough milk to do it, even with meds. My youngest didnt even get a drop of formula till she was over a month old she only got IVs. Also too with them being preemie they needed the extra calorie preemie formula so breast milk wouldnt have been enough. I think banning formula is very stupid. Not everyone can breastfeed and the majority of women just flat dont want to. It should be the moms decision not the governments. Also another thing I just thought of is what about parents of multiples would they have enough milk for 3? Also one perk of formula is it is not just the mom that can feed the child it gives dad and baby a chancve to bond and give mom a break some too.(It is true that you can express and bottle feed but when they are 1rst born they say not to do both because of nipple confusion and face it that is when the mom could use the help the most during recovery)
I think the whole world has gone topsy turvy and things that never happened before are happening now. You never heard of people strong companies closing and taking people off of benefits, you never heard of a lot of things and this is another one for the books all of the things you said above I concur, what are they going to do stop by on your way to the hospital and pick up two cans of milk just in case you stay for more than a day - I mean you can't have surgery or a baby with out being put out of the hospital.
That isn't what the article said...it said they aren't going to put formula in gift bags anymore...instead they are putting breast pads, ect. They just want to push breast feeding. I wish my hospital would have given me a gift bag with breast feeding supplies in lieu of formula! I just gave mine away to another new mom who wasn't breast feeding. BETTER YET! Why don't they have one for breast feeding moms AND one for formula? That would make more sense since no matter what you can't make someone change their minds on that. IF they want to breast feed they will. I am just glad they are pushing the information on the benifits of breast feeding now...I hate that people act like its some big taboo thing! OK HELLO...that is what they were made for...to feed babies! Sorry I went off on a totally different thing there. Anyway, that wasn't what the article said.
I am Canadian, so perhaps my opinion on NY state laws hold little water, but here goes. I am militantly against breastfeeding, for myself anyway. If you want to BF that's great, me-I hated it and am currently pregnant with my next child who I refuse to BF. As long as NY hospitals provide formula upon request, what is the problem? So they don't send it home with everyone....what's the problem with that. Dedicated BF mothers would just get rid of it anyway, and those who are on the fence can request it at the hospital or buy their own. I didn't stop BF ing because the hospital gave me formula, I stopped it because BF'ing was disgusting and I hated it. I do however have a problem with legislating pressuring mothers to BF. That just sets a precedent for other personal decisions that the politicians will try to legislate. Why does it have to be a city wide ban? Why not simply instigate hospital policies that limit the distribution of formula? Keep the choice in the hands of mothers out of the hands of the politicians and lactivists.
Wow, is this true? I live in NY!
This is more of a response to some of the answers that refer to women that didn't breastfeed as lazy. Bite me! I breastfed the 1st child and declined to breastfeed the 2nd. 1st child was sickly and colicky from day one. The 2nd child was robust and healthy. I don't give one iota about your choice or anyone else's choice between breast feeding and formula. What I do care about is MY CHOICE. The government has no business making decisions for me or anyone else when it comes to personal choice. I have a right to receive information in all forms, including samples and coupons from the formula companies. Just as your rights allow you to refuse it.