Breastfeeding support kits

[APmomto3boys]

What can I do about these being on display and handed out at my ped's office? I played stupid and asked the nurse as she was weighing my baby, why a bf'ing support kit would have formula.... She said that you have to supplement before your milk comes in! continued to say "a baby's gotta eat" to my super fat, 100% breastfed baby. He has a cleft, is breastfed at the breast and is in the 75th percentile after spending 2 weeks in the nicu...(rolling eyes)

Has anyone written a letter regarding this?

Here are the kits. They disgust me.

http://www.enfamil.com/BreastfeedingKit/



Read the text very carefully, especially the last paragraph.

I kept thinking to myself "of course this kit is specially designed for breastfeeding moms! The formula feeding moms are already buying your product!"

The second thought that popped into my head was all of those commercials from Phillip Morris telling you to stop smoking.

Every time I see one, I think to myself "Why the heck would I take advice on how to quit smoking from the people who sell me cigarettes?"

Gotta say...I see this as the exact same thing.

[Breastfeeding Insomniac]

They should really be called undermining moms confidence kits, or breastfeeding sabatoge kits, but then the formula company would be coming to close to showing their true colors, so they disguise it as bf support. This is another recent thread in lactivism discussing this:
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=815750

Also, if you haven't done so yet, check out this site:
http://banthebags.org/

[APmomto3boys]

Thank you! I know that site all too well.

I also have an advocacy site here:
http://www.freewebs.com/breastfeedingadvocacy/index.htm

Now, what to do? would you write your doctors office? Seriously, these gift bags are out of control and they need to know that some moms don't appreciate them!

[Breastfeeding Insomniac]

I would write a letter, also tell them the nurses comment on needing formula until your milk comes in, and how this is not only a myth but it goes against AAP guidelines of exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months. Include Marsha Walker's article "Just one bottle" http://www.drjaygordon.com/developme...supplement.asp

you can also refer your MD to ban the bags and http://nofreelunch.org/

[Beckula]

I would write to them to suggest that their staff take a recent class on Breastfeeding as they are completely spouting off totally incorrect info to new Moms who might not know any different. JMHO. FTR I have had the same problem at my Family Doc and i have to say He (meaning him, not his staff) is the most BF friendly Doc in town. It totally disgusts me that medical professionals can be so ignorant of the biological standard way to feed a baby.

I played stupid and asked the nurse as she was weighing my baby, why a bf'ing support kit would have formula.... She said that you have to supplement before your milk comes in! continued to say "a baby's gotta eat" to my super fat, 100% breastfed baby.

[Breastfeeding Insomniac]

Originally Posted by APmomto3boys

I also have an advocacy site here:
http://www.freewebs.com/breastfeedingadvocacy/index.htm

I like your site
Is the ring sling business yours? I love the logo!

[APmomto3boys]

It is! I make ring slings and have a pretty good business doing so. My site is www.sweetpearingslings.com.

Thanks, I make the logo's too!

[aprilv]

This was the exact kit that the hospital gave me to take home. I must say the Nursing Mother's Companion book was actually so helpful to me. In the first few weeks when I had no idea what I was doing, I found that little pamphlet very reassuring; i must've read it 20 times. Granted there was an awful lot in there about 'problems you may have when nursing' (this seems to me to be the focus of many mainstream magazine articles, too) BUT there was also great stuff in there about growth spurts and feeding the baby frequently which helped me to follow my instincts (not the bad advice I was hearing from others).
as for the formula, i found it in a drawer last month, about to expire. I passed it on to someone who is already formula feeding.
Of course, I wish there was a better breastfeeding kit out there, and I know they didn't really include that booklet to make sure moms succeed, but I am really glad I had it.

[Mama Poot]

I think the larger problem is that nurse spouting off misinformation. I would definitely talk to the doctor in charge of the practice and address these problems. After the staff recieves proper education on breastfeeding, then you can work on getting the bf'ing sabotage bags outta there. Its kind of a don't put the cart before the horse type thing, kwim?