Hate to be the one to post this - Page 5

[Ayala Eilon]

So great firstkids4me. I love that you called. all of us should. It is too late today, but I will tomorrow.

I gave birth at home and I now think that this is another good reason to give birth at home when possible. Once in the hospital, we are nothing but a samper for commercials.

[mamimapster]

Originally Posted by sapphire_chan

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, another idea! Give the bags only to mom's who are on WIC and specifically request them. And give them a big list of "If you were breastfeeding you could have these foods too!"

Umm, no. I'm guessing you're not serious. Poor moms have the hardest time breadfeeding IMHO, why no just give them the extra food from the get-go.
I dislike Mitt Romney for so many reasons, and this is just one of them, of course he supports the ffers, Breastfeeding isn't going to put big corporate bucks in his presedential fund!

[firstkid4me]

Originally Posted by bailey228

ok, so they're a company trying to make a profit. And? Should we ban free samples at the supermarket as well? Aren't they doing the same thing? What about the people who work for the formula company, they have families to support. What happens when the company fails to make enough to pay their salaries? Let me guess, then you'd all be up in arms about the poor families effected when enfamil has to lay off 1,500 workers.

: Seriously, thanks for the laugh! There will always be a need for formula as long as there are selfish parents out there. I say selfish because I've talked to MANY women who have said they didn't even TRY to nurse because they:
Didn't want their boobs to be messed up
Couldn't sit down for 30 minutes for their baby to feed
Wanted to fit into their wedding dress 3 weeks after birth (I was told this one this weekend, the woman said she fit into her dress perfectly before she got pregnant. DOH!)
Wanted one area of the baby they didn't have to worry about, ever (yeah, I've heard this one, what about baths, or diapers?)

There are a few other reasons, but I can't think of any of them right now. As long as there are people who give these reasons, there will always be a need for formula. You also have the women who think it's wrong to nurse in church, but don't have a pump, so they need formula. You have women who just plain don't want to pump (they say they feel like a cow) and are going back to work, so they need formula. You have people who need formula for medical reasons. If Enfamil is so worried about having to lay off 1500 people because they aren't making sales, maybe they should stop sponsoring shows like "Bringing Home Baby" and giving away massive amounts of "free" formula and coupons to those people who didn't ask for them (I got 5 cans from Enfamil when Emily was born and I didn't ask for them.)

[AllyRae]

Originally Posted by rmzbm

"Gail Wood , spokeswoman for Mead Johnson & Company , maker of Enfamil , the leading infant formula, said the decision means that mothers can decide what works best for them."

If that's so, why are there no free carnation or organic formula or generic formula or coupons for free breastpump rentals or tubes of lansinoh? If it weren't meant to advertise for ONE BRAND of formula, couldn't they give gifts of formula in containers with no brand name on them (but a list of ingredients). It's all just a huge ploy to line the pockets of enfamil...

[firstkid4me]

Originally Posted by AllyRae

If that's so, why are there no free carnation or organic formula or generic formula or coupons for free breastpump rentals or tubes of lansinoh? If it weren't meant to advertise for ONE BRAND of formula, couldn't they give gifts of formula in containers with no brand name on them (but a list of ingredients). It's all just a huge ploy to line the pockets of enfamil...

Some hospitals give out Similac, it's not just Enfamil, it just depends on who is being advertised at that certain hospital.

[grumpyshoegirl]

Originally Posted by firstkid4me

Some hospitals give out Similac, it's not just Enfamil, it just depends on who is being advertised at that certain hospital.

And the mother of all evil formula companies, Nestle. I got a big ol' cannister of Good Start at the hospital inside what the nurses had the audacity to call a "breastfeeding bag." Right, because I needed a bag with the Good Start logo inside in order to successfully breastfeed?

I'm going to bring this up at the next LLL meeting, but I think there's a real lactivism opportunity here for the Mass. ladies. What if people with the time (I'm a teacher and will be on vacation in three weeks) organized a true breastfeeding bag drive....or at least a breastfeeding folder drive, with coupons for lanisoh, info on local LLL meetings, breastfeeding tips, and contact info for IBCLCs?

If anyone's interested, PM me with your email address or email me at: grumpyshoegirl 'at' gmail 'dot' com.

[devoted2kids]

Are you sure it was the hospitals that were pushing for a law banning free formula samples? If that were the case, all they would have to do is refuse to participate in the formula marketing scheme. I thought that was part of the problem.... the hospitals wouldn't ban the free "gift bags" because the formula manufacturers compensated the hospitals for pushing formula on new mothers.

For more information about this issue, see this webpage: http://www.massbfc.org/leadingOrgs.html