Cairycat
Cairycat's JournalIf you glance at the article, you will see
that formula fed babies will still get formula in the hospital. But mothers won't be sent home with a "gift" bag. They will have to make arrangements to feed their babies at home. Just like the breastfeeding mothers. Who are, after all, providing their babies' food in the hospital - without compensation! Think of that!
"Document a medical reason for every bottle" is about medical personnel being ACCOUNTABLE
for the bottles that are given. It is not to make parents have to come up with a medical reason. Too often bottles are given to breastfed babies, even without the parents' knowledge or consent. THAT is the problem that provision is for. I know the nurses were determined to give my youngest a bottle, fortunately I was informed and determined (and awake enough after a c-section with general anesthesia!) to prevent that. But without my advocacy, he would have been given formula.
Parents are still completely free to choose formula. No one is forcing anyone to breastfeed. Where in the article or anywhere else do you see that the choice is in any way restricted? It's not.
The article's language is loaded. It's not a matter of "hiding". It's a matter of not having the advertising everywhere you look on the maternity ward.
If an action has medical consequences, shouldn't there be a medical reason for the action?
Even one bottle of formula can make permanent changes in the baby's gut and digestive system. It can set a baby up for allergies. Here is my reference: http://www.naba-breastfeeding.org/images/Just%20One%20Bottle.pdf
In too many hospitals, doctors and nurses treat the giving of formula to breastfed babies far too casually. The choices of those breastfeeding exclusively need to be respected.
Parents are still completely free to choose human milk or formula.
The formula fed baby will learn about waiting for food anyway
There will almost certainly be a time when a bottle-fed baby will have to wait while a bottle is prepared and possibly warmed.
Hospital procedures will get worked out quite quickly, I'm sure. Maybe it will make nurses less apt to feed formula to a baby whose mother wants to exclusively breastfeed. That happens very often and many mothers are not happy about the permanent changes to their babies' digestive systems caused by that.
Actually, it's possible for adoptive mothers to nurse
but whether or not that's their choice, you would think that if adoption is planned, arrangements to have formula on hand if needed, would be made. Formula is still available for babies who are not breastfed, for whatever reason. There is no limitation on formula, merely on its advertising.
This about hospitals, doctors and nurses not being marketing agents
for the formula manufacturers, plain and simple. That's all! Mothers will still have access to formula. It's just that medical personnel will no longer be able to advertise for it via sample bags and various advertising gew-gaws.
And for pity's sake, the way some posters are writing, you'd think there were no stores where parents could buy formula. In most areas, there are many, many stores, open as many as 24 hours a day, where one can purchase formula! Need some, go out and get some, just like with every other consumer product on the planet!
The one and only reason formula manufacturers want hospitals to push these sample bags and prominently display these lanyards and other crap, is that it increases sales for them. There is absolutely no reason for them to do otherwise. Not only is that common sense, but studies have proven that this is so.
Women who want to breastfeed should be able to without interference from the formula manufacturers. Women who don't want to breastfeed should understand the health consequences of their choice for their babies and for themselves, and then buy their own damn formula and not expect the hospitals to supply endless "freebies" (which they will eventually pay for in higher formula costs).
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Gender: FemaleCurrent location: Iowa
Member since: Sat Jan 22, 2005, 09:08 PM
Number of posts: 1,706
