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digusted with my new OB's office  

post #1 of 38
6/13/08 at 3:03pm
Thread Starter 
Had my first appointment earlier this week. Their "welcome packet" included a 1st trimester gift from Similac (pregnancy planner book thingee-- every other page was a formula ad), a 1st trimester gift from Enfamil (a book about baby's development-- again, every other page a formula ad), SIX (count 'em 6) flyers on how to sign up for various formula "clubs" to get freebies and discounts and of course the infamous breastfeeding sabotage kits...some kind of Enfamil "game piece" and sweepstakes junk...could they have unloaded any more propaganda on me???

In all of this, there was a single off-center, xeroxed sheet with guidelines on how to store breastmilk. Kicker-- the guidelines were wrong. Refrigerated milk doesn't need to be pitched after 24 hours, DUH. LLL says more like 8 days.

I don't think I will be going back to that office. I'm going to write them a letter explaining why I've lost confidence in their practice, and exactly how they are violating the International Code. I don't know if it'll do any good but I'll certainly feel better.

Did anyone else out there get exposed to THIS much advertising from a health professional? I'm just appalled. Please tell me this is not what normally happens!! My last OB didn't give me anything like that.
post #2 of 38
6/13/08 at 3:07pm
That is just so wrong! How the heck can they get away with that?? I'd definitely be writing a letter or something to complain about that!
post #3 of 38
6/13/08 at 4:07pm
Not that much. At one point I did get a something or other gift pack and it had enfamil. I didn't even know Drs could give more than one brand. Don't the companies bid for the practices?
Good luck finding a new Dr. Can't say I blame you :-X
post #4 of 38
6/13/08 at 4:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Artemnesia View Post
I don't think I will be going back to that office. I'm going to write them a letter explaining why I've lost confidence in their practice, and exactly how they are violating the International Code. .
Excellent! Good on you.
post #5 of 38
6/13/08 at 4:29pm
Yeah, I get to use THIS smiley finally:

:Puke

That is all I have to say about THAT OB!
post #6 of 38
6/13/08 at 4:44pm
The OB I've been seeing up here hasn't given anything like that except a little coupon book that had coupons for nachos, a pack of diapers, photography, and something else, but the something else wasn't formula. Then there was a little book about pregnancy that mentioned using formula as an option but also had a lot of breastfeeding info, and a little book entirely about breastfeeding.
post #7 of 38
6/13/08 at 4:53pm
That is awful! I'm so glad you are going to write a letter!
post #8 of 38
6/13/08 at 6:01pm
Oh y'all will love this: Not only did I get this bag twice (I switched OB's), my bags each had TWO CANS of sample formula in them (reg. formula and soy)! I was blown away but now I know why so many women make the switch early on. I mean, at three in the morning, when I was so tired beyond ridiculous and that formula was calling me from the closet, it was very tempting at times! The formula companies are vultures, and while yes, there are situations where lives are saved because of formula (extreme inability to break down proteins, etc.), there are millions more BFing relationships that are destroyed because of this marketing.
I think they should outlaw it!
post #9 of 38
6/13/08 at 6:19pm
After my second child was born, every time I got formula samples, I donated them to the food bank.
post #10 of 38
6/13/08 at 9:51pm
I took all of those little prepaid postage cards/business reply mail cards and had my toddler color on them and dropped them in the box. The formula company has to pay postage for my little prank! I put the planner books in my free box at my garage sale for kids to pick through and donated the formula or gave it to non-BFing mamas. I didn't quit my OB who I loved because of it. He gets that junk for free and passes it on to his patients, just like he does with drug samples (gave me 2 months of the ONLY prenatals I could keep down), pads of paper, pens, etc.
post #11 of 38
6/13/08 at 10:28pm
Quote:
I didn't quit my OB who I loved because of it. He gets that junk for free and passes it on to his patients, just like he does with drug samples (gave me 2 months of the ONLY prenatals I could keep down), pads of paper, pens, etc.
Its nice that you loved your OB but I don't agree with this reasoning. There is no downside to giving a sample of a prenatal vitamin to someone who is taking prenatal vitamins anyway. There IS a downside to giving a sample of formula or passing along formula marketing to someone who has not yet had a baby. Pregnant women should be given ONLY encouragement to breastfeed and no conflicting messages from their health-care providers.

It may be a different story if a woman post-partum has legitimate reasons why formula feeding is needed, and must begin using it - at that point, giving a free sample isn't changing the outcome but perhaps is a financial help.

Your OB should keep the formula samples and promotions only for women he sees 6 weeks post-partum IF they tell him that they are already using formula.
post #12 of 38
6/14/08 at 1:31am
Ugh Obgyns : ................I remember mine asking if I was going to bf,I said yes,well they walk in the room with seriously 3 big boxes with 15 cans in each box,just incase,and then the hospital and the ugly plastic diaper bags two with different brands of formula...I think the million samples I got at the DR were emfamil oh cant forget I also got the individual packets of formula
post #13 of 38
6/14/08 at 2:28am
Quote:
Originally Posted by meganmarie View Post
Your OB should keep the formula samples and promotions only for women he sees 6 weeks post-partum IF they tell him that they are already using formula.
Well, really he should refuse to accept them from the formula companies. But if he is going to take them he should give several to women who actually need them and none to anyone else.
post #14 of 38
6/14/08 at 2:40am
Ugh - I'm so sorry. I would switch care providers as well if I were you.
post #15 of 38
6/14/08 at 2:43am
my ob office did this too. i was soo pissed when i got home and realized there was formula in the "goodie bag" and all my friends said "oh keep it just in case!" so of course it was thrown away and i have switched to a midwife.
post #16 of 38
6/14/08 at 3:29am
We don't have much of a choice due to the insurance provider we are with. But I got some of this crud when I began going to my OB as well. No where near the extent that you did it sounds like.

I'm glad you are or did write a letter though.
post #17 of 38
6/14/08 at 7:40am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by meganmarie View Post
There IS a downside to giving a sample of formula or passing along formula marketing to someone who has not yet had a baby. Pregnant women should be given ONLY encouragement to breastfeed and no conflicting messages from their health-care providers.
Exactly. Actually it's against the Code for health care workers to give out ANY samples at any point in time, unless they're doing it in a program specifically for that purpose (like WIC). For those who aren't familiar with the International Code:

http://www.who.int/nutrition/publica...de_english.pdf (pdf doc, scroll down as the first page looks blank until you do... )

I don't think donating the stuff solves the problem. How do I know it isn't going to be used to undermine someone if it goes to a food bank? And food banks, by the way, are not short on formula. Companies actually bid for the contracts to be able to donate. In the end it makes them more money. It's more advertising. Not to mention that at least in the US families in need can always get artificial milk from WIC.

My other concern if I give it away-- how do I know it's going to be handled properly? It's almost always powdered formula that they give you samples of, and most people don't know that you're not supposed to give that to babies under 2 months of age, and even after that you're supposed to be extremely careful how you reconstitute it. It's not sterile. According to the FDA 12% of the batch of powdered samples they tested as a reference point were contaminated with a potentially deadly bacteria called Enterobacter sakazakii. Not too many cases of illness and death are reported from that each year, but there are always a few, and many health agencies think it's underreported. If I'm passing on powdered formula, how do I know I'm not passing on poison. I would feel awful if someone's baby got sick and died from a sample I passed along.

WHO meeting report on E. sakazakii
http://www.who.int/foodsafety/public.../en/index.html

The death of a week-old baby in Belgium
http://www.infactcanada.ca/how_safe_...t_formulas.htm

I refuse to be turned into a formula distributor or ad agent. I'm sure the formula companies would love it if everyone thought, oh the samples are no big deal (even though they hurt breastfeeding rates), mothers who don't want them can just pass them on. It's not like a sample of toothpaste or like she said a free prenatal. If you use that sample it can wreak havoc on the breastfeeding relationship, and after that sample is finished the rest of the year is not free.
post #18 of 38
6/14/08 at 9:06am
Quote:
Originally Posted by meganmarie View Post
It may be a different story if a woman post-partum has legitimate reasons why formula feeding is needed, and must begin using it - at that point, giving a free sample isn't changing the outcome but perhaps is a financial help.

Your OB should keep the formula samples and promotions only for women he sees 6 weeks post-partum IF they tell him that they are already using formula.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TefferTWH View Post
He gets that junk for free and passes it on to his patients, just like he does with drug samples (gave me 2 months of the ONLY prenatals I could keep down), pads of paper, pens, etc.
Obviously if a doctor really *must* hand out formula samples, it's better to give them to moms who are already formula feeding. However, IMO, they shouldn't hand them out at all. In general, those samples aren't doing anyone any favors.

NONE of this stuff is really "free" -- not drug samples, not formula samples, not the pens and other trinkets. ALL of this stuff is marketing. The drug and formula companies don't do it to be generous. They do it so that more people will use/be prescribed their product, be it formula or medication. The marketing costs are built into the cost of the product. It's one of the reasons why formula -- and brand-name prescription drugs -- are so expensive.

Overall, giving out free samples does NOT help patients (although most doctors believe it does). Doctors who perpetuate these marketing practices by handing out samples (or drug company trinkets) are helping to keep prices very high. Also, the drugs or formula that they have samples for are almost always the expensive name-brand ones -- if patients start using these, they are usually reluctant to switch if they are "working", and patients are then stuck buying the expensive brand when a cheaper generic medication or store-brand formula might have worked just as well (or better!). Finally, research indicates that doctors alter their prescribing patterns based on what samples they have available; while they might prefer to use a different drug for a particular patient, they will often prescribe the one that they have samples for so they can "help the patient out" with free samples. So those samples can lead to inappropriate drug selection (or presumably formula selection) for a patient. http://nofreelunch.org/patients.htm has more information and lots of references -- it's talking about drug reps, but most of the points apply to formula reps as well.

Doctors should be promoting health and evidence-based practice, not helping the formula and drug companies increase sales at the expense of the patients.
post #19 of 38
6/14/08 at 9:09am
Good points, Artemnesia.
post #20 of 38
6/14/08 at 9:35am
Mine all came in a gift bag. I pulled out the info sheet on medications that are safe and contact numbers and handed back the bag. THe assistant was stunned and asked why I didnt want my Similac pregnancy journal ... UHHHHH its my 4th pregnancy. I have NO time to sit and write about every ache and pain.
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