On a mainstream board, I brought up the topic of getting rid of formula bags in hospitals. A few ff moms said that it's taking the choice of ffing away from moms, and that the government shouldn't regulate such things. Here's my response to her (wanted to run it by y'all):
To me, it's not about a bf or ff debate, just because they take the bag away doesn't mean they take the choice away. Without the bag, the parent still has the option of going to the store and buying formula, taking the bag away doesn't control you in any way. Did you know that the formula companies give out bags called "breastfeeding success" bags? Did you know that in these bags is a sample of formula? There's information on how to supplement with formula (if you're tired, if baby still seems hungry after nursing for x amount of time on each side, etc), there's information on weaning your baby from the breast to the bottle and how to switch over from breastmilk to formula with "as little problem" as possible? Does this sound like a bag that is meant to make a woman successful at breastfeeding? Furthermore, the World Health Organization (WHO) has come up with an Internation Code of Marketing Breastmilk Substitutes and the US formula companies are in blatant violation of this code:
http://www.ibfan.org/english/resource/who/fullcode.html
The formula companies aren't "giving" away these bags to be nice, or to help out mothers who are poor, they're doing it to ensure consumer loyalty. There is no free lunch, they're trying to ruin breastfeeding relationships by sending breastfeeding moms home with these "breastfeeding success" bags (I got one on my way out the door, I didn't have time to even look inside the bag.) When breastfeeding starts to get hard, it's all too tempting to turn to the bag with the formula in it (because what new mom has the time to give it away, or the want to throw it away) and give the baby the bottle of formula, just like the pamphlet in the bag says. I know because I've been there. I had SIXTEEN cans of FREE formula that were sent to me, all because I said I was planning on breastfeeding. My hospital sold my information to the formula companies. They weren't being nice, they were preying on me, and I know I'm not the only woman that this has been done to. These bags almost ruined my breastfeeding relationship, if not for Kevin's support, telling me to give it one more try, and LLL, I wouldn't still be breastfeeding. (And before anyone says this is about self control, I know a LOT of other moms who, in an exhausted and pained state, have done the same thing.) Once I got the "free" formula out of the house, things got a lot better. I figured that it would take an hour to get to the store and back to buy formula, and I could commit that long to getting the latch right (it wouldn't even take that long.)
I think that the way formula companies market to breastfeeding moms is unethical. Now, if they want to just do away with the breastfeeding success bags and give bags ONLY to ff moms, I'm ok with that.
To me, it's not about a bf or ff debate, just because they take the bag away doesn't mean they take the choice away. Without the bag, the parent still has the option of going to the store and buying formula, taking the bag away doesn't control you in any way. Did you know that the formula companies give out bags called "breastfeeding success" bags? Did you know that in these bags is a sample of formula? There's information on how to supplement with formula (if you're tired, if baby still seems hungry after nursing for x amount of time on each side, etc), there's information on weaning your baby from the breast to the bottle and how to switch over from breastmilk to formula with "as little problem" as possible? Does this sound like a bag that is meant to make a woman successful at breastfeeding? Furthermore, the World Health Organization (WHO) has come up with an Internation Code of Marketing Breastmilk Substitutes and the US formula companies are in blatant violation of this code:
http://www.ibfan.org/english/resource/who/fullcode.html
The formula companies aren't "giving" away these bags to be nice, or to help out mothers who are poor, they're doing it to ensure consumer loyalty. There is no free lunch, they're trying to ruin breastfeeding relationships by sending breastfeeding moms home with these "breastfeeding success" bags (I got one on my way out the door, I didn't have time to even look inside the bag.) When breastfeeding starts to get hard, it's all too tempting to turn to the bag with the formula in it (because what new mom has the time to give it away, or the want to throw it away) and give the baby the bottle of formula, just like the pamphlet in the bag says. I know because I've been there. I had SIXTEEN cans of FREE formula that were sent to me, all because I said I was planning on breastfeeding. My hospital sold my information to the formula companies. They weren't being nice, they were preying on me, and I know I'm not the only woman that this has been done to. These bags almost ruined my breastfeeding relationship, if not for Kevin's support, telling me to give it one more try, and LLL, I wouldn't still be breastfeeding. (And before anyone says this is about self control, I know a LOT of other moms who, in an exhausted and pained state, have done the same thing.) Once I got the "free" formula out of the house, things got a lot better. I figured that it would take an hour to get to the store and back to buy formula, and I could commit that long to getting the latch right (it wouldn't even take that long.)
I think that the way formula companies market to breastfeeding moms is unethical. Now, if they want to just do away with the breastfeeding success bags and give bags ONLY to ff moms, I'm ok with that.
: Yea, just what a bf-ing mom needs on that first night home when she is exausted and having trouble with latch. 
I gave the whole bag to my dh's co-worker who had a baby the week before and was formula feeding.
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'ed annettemarie's posts lately! 
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