went to the post office today...

[Evergreen]

ok, i am nursing while i type this so ignore the lowercase. i went to the post office today and had a package notice in my box. yay. keep in mind i was carrying my newborn in her carseat as she had fallen asleep. those things are really heavy. so i am standing there for an eternity with my arm about to fall off. finally it is my turn. the postal worker returns withmy package and i notice the word enfimil branded across it. i am livid. but i take it and open it in the car. its a huge can of abm. errrr. i think it is wrong that they do this. i have no desire to feed that to my child but a less educated mother may think 'wow, its easy and free...' i dont know how they got my adress anyway bc with a great midwife who is also my close friend in a very pro breastfeeding birth center that would never sell a nursing mom's name to a formula company.

[Trishy]

They probably got it from the registars office for the birth certificate. It is deplorable that all of these places sell your name.

[MysticHealerMom]

the thing i find outrageous is you had to take the time and go there to pick it up! I'd have left it in the dumpster!! FEH! Like this isn't the kinda thing the postal carrier could just leave in front of your door, it's unsolicited. bah.

I started getting all sorts of things when I went to a maternity store. they wanted my name for "their" mailing list, but didn't say that they'd have all sorts of other goodies for me - bleh.

[MelMel]

yeah, they (Enfamil) CALLED me yesturday..for a 'survey' to see what samples I was given, what brands the hospital 'offered' what my pediatrician/ob 'offered' me.....what I did with the coupons and formula (i dont like to call it abm...it shouldnt even have 'breast milk' in the name...it IS a lab made 'formula') if i would be interested in receiving formula if I was planning to stop bf in the next 30 days....

I gave him an EARFUL...very slowly and politely, and asked if he was writing all of it down.....

I told him that I felt is was unethical for them to push formula to unknowing mothers through the docs and hospitals they blindly trust to provide them healthy and beneficial information...

I told him I sold the formula and coupons, and to keep them coming, cuz I LOVE making money off of them....

He asked if I was eligible for WIC, because Icould receive formula for free .....and I told him I already feed my baby for free...

He laughed and said he was learning alot...I asked him to sneak and tell other women he called that bf was best, he said they record the conversations...and then thanked me for my time...

Dh said there goes the coupons...I dont think so, they are probably sending me a few cases as we speak...tryin to break this filly...

:sinister :sinister :sinister :sinister

[mama2girls]

Grrrr. Why does the "breastfeeding" pack that you take home with you in the hospital come with formula? I have taken all the free samples/coupons they send me/give me (hey it's their dime) and donated it to the crisis nursery in our community. At least I can feel good about formula in that situation. We have not and hope to never have to feed formula in this house!

[Chi-Chi Mama]

same thing happened to me when dd was about two months old I think..

I was LIVID!!!!!!!! I thought it was a package I had been expecting from a friend... so I took dd to the post office.. to get that crap!!!!!! I am getting mad just thinking about this

this should not be allowed to happen!!

I wish someone would call me for a survey!

[DaryLLL]

MelMel--just FYI, ABM stands for artificial baby milk, not artificial breast milk. I often say, a baby is artifically fed, instead of saying they are "formula" fed.

[MelMel]

that is better...they ARE artificially fed, not 'formula' fed...when you put it that way.....! thanks....

:sinister :sinister :sinister :sinister

[Greaseball]

I don't even like to call it artificial milk, or food. Although it has milk ingredients, it's a far cry from any kind of milk.

They probably knew that if they delivered the package to your house you would refuse it, so they made you waste time and energy coming to pick it up. I guess one thing you could do it write them a letter telling them you donated it to a mom who was already formula-feeding (even if you just threw it out).

The companies don't want their products going to a mom who is already ff, so that will upset them. They want their stuff going to the bf moms only. They want the ff moms to buy the stuff.

Good point about how you already feed your baby for free!

I never got any kind of samples, and I delivered in a hospital and used to subscribe to some mainstream parenting mags. I also get all sorts of baby catalogs, so I don't know why I've never had any kind of formula harrassment, but I'm glad!

[acystay]

I got a ton of samples too. I was even signed up for enfamil 2X so got double! My poor sil who didn't bf didn't get any thing. I gave her my samples.

stacy

[Peach]

Dh says, "The first hit is always free."

At dd's old pediatrician's office, they had all their "breastfeeding" brochures from abm companies and zippo from LLL.

Where we live now, the office, which serves kids and mommies, has only stuff from LLL, bf.com, and the NM breastfeeding task force.

Slightly off topic, but what really frosts me is how it is viewed as pro-feminism to ff. Like, women can't be bothered to bf, so they should have the "freedom" to "choose" to leave the parenting to Enfamil and Nestle. Gag.

[Greaseball]

This can be a loaded topic sometimes, but I really think it's more "feminist" to bf. I think if you bf, it's like saying that women - not men - know the best way to feed babies and always have. Formula was invented by men who thought they had a better idea. NOTHING is better than women's own bodies when it comes to feeding and nurturing babies!

Some women say it's more "feminist" to ff because then you're not "restricted to the stereotypically female role of childrearing" but I say you can always pump if you don't want to actually sit down with your baby.

[Mommiska]

I agree that it is more feminist to breastfeed...I also think it's important for governments and business to support women in being able to stay at home and breast-feed/be with their young baby in the early months. The US is shamefully behind in maternity rights!

I think it's important to stand up and say that a mother's role in her young child's life is important - just as important as the work a man does in an office.

I am always shocked when I hear the stories from the States about free formula for bf moms, etc. I never had any of that her in the UK, thankfully.