If they doubt then they shouldn't whine about the ban!!
Alright, I'm sure you all know my views on breastfeeding. I'm sure you all can see I'm a part of an LJ community called boob_nazis. But for those of you who may not know, let me give you a VERY brief rundown of my views on breastfeeding and formula feeding.
Formula raises the risks of SIDs.
Formula raises the risks of chronic ear infections.
Formula raises the risks of asthma.
Formula raises the risks of diabetes, obesity, poor eating habits and cancer- breast and cervical cancer for Mom, and just take your pick for baby.
Formula raises the risks of impaired antibody responses to vaccines.
Formula raises the risks of apnea and bradycardia.
Formula raises the risks of inflammatory illness.
Formula raises the risks of celiac disease, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, cholera, and neonatal hypocalcemic tetany.
Formula causes colic.
Formula causes acid reflux and other tummy trouble in many babies- hence the need for Lactose Free Formula, Soy Formula, Nutramigen (at $25 per pound) and special formula for pre-mature babies.
Formula is dangerous. You've just been conditioned not to notice because it's the norm.
Powered formula, it's not sterile, so it can have bacteria and the bacteria can make it to the bottle and harm your baby. There have been cases of babies dying from this.
Breastfeeding reduces the chances of the child getting sick and they get illnesses that are less severe
Breastfeeding reduces the chance of hospitalization and have a lower rate of mortality (ie: less likely to die)
Breastfeeding reduces the risk of diarreal disease
Breastfeeding reduces the risk of gastrointestinal illness
Breastfeeding reduces the risk of urinary tract infections
Breastfeeding reduces the risk of respiratory disease
Breastfeeding reduces the risk of otitis media (ear infections)
Breastfeeding reduces the risk of allergies
Breastfeeding reduces the risk of obesity
Breastfeeding reduces the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
Breastfeeding reduces the risk of developing learning and behavior difficulties
Breastfeeding reduces the risk of pneumonia, neonatal sepsis, and giardia
Breastfeeding contributes to natural family planning (by suppressing the female monthly cycle - yes this means you can go without your period while breastfeeding. I went the entire time I breastfed Lethia with no menstrual cycle.)
helps bond mother and child
Breastfeeding ALSO:
~ confers passive immunity
~ is protective against measles and other communicable diseases
~ provides optimal growth and neurological development
~ prevents malocclusion/leads to better teeth/jaw development
~ protects against hypothermia
~ provides partial protection against necrotising entercolitis
~ provides major protection against bacteremia and meningitis
~ reduces the incidence of childhood lymphoma
~ enhances visual development
~ provides protection against neonatal sepsis
~ is less risky for premature babies and low birth weight babies
I also firmly believe that you should breastfeed for at LEAST the first year of the child's life and then continue with extended breastfeeding and let the child self wean (trust me, your child will not be nursing when they're in highschool!! Most children by the age of 3 nurse only 2 or 3 times a day and only for 15-30 minutes.)
This is what the WHO (World Health Organization) says about breastfeeding:
"As a global public health recommendation, infants should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life to achieve optimal growth, development and health. Thereafter, to meet their evolving nutritional requirements, infants should receive nutritionally adequate and safe complementary foods while breastfeeding continues for up to two years of age or beyond. Exclusive breastfeeding from birth is possible except for a few medical conditions, and unrestricted exclusive breastfeeding results in ample milk production." - 4/16/02 The World Health Organization's policy on Infant and Child Nutrition.
Now, with all that said... Here is an article about a ban in Massachusetts that has been repealed for a review. The ban? Banning of Formula being distributed in the hospital after a mother has her child as it is a marketing ploy to deter women from breastfeeding. Formula companies are saying it won't stop women from FF (formula feeding) if the "goody bags" are banned. Why then, are formula companies getting so upset? If they have no worries about a decrease in FF women vs BF (breastfeeding) women then they should bow out and agree to stop distributing the "goody bags". Obviously though they are worried that mothers might actually be smart and BF their children as opposed to FF. Anyways, please, I encourage you to read on. And whether you live in Mass. or not, if you are in favor of this ban PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE write to these
MA Public Health Council members: http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=eohhs2terminal&L=6&L0=Home&L1=Government&L 2=Departments+and+Divisions&L3=Department+of+Publi c+Health&L4=Programs+and+Services+K+-+S&L5=Public+Health+Council&sid=Eeohhs2&b=terminal content&f=dph_quality_g_health_council_members&csi d=Eeohhs2
And tell them how much you agree with the ban!!!
Breast-feeding debate heats up in Massachusetts
By Jason Szep Wed Feb 22, 5:17 PM ET
BOSTON (Reuters) - When it comes to breast-feeding, do mothers really know best?
Officials in Massachusetts are debating whether to prohibit hospitals from handing out free samples of infant formula, provided by formula companies, to new mothers. The state would be the first to ban the free formula.
Republican Gov. Mitt Romney says he believes mothers should decide how to feed their infants and has asked the state's Public Health Council to repeal the ban announced in December. The council, part of the state's health agency, voted on Tuesday to suspend the ban and study the issue. They will decide in May whether to go ahead with the ban.
Medical studies show breast-feeding lowers the risk and severity of ear infections, diarrhea and bacterial meningitis in babies, and may help to protect against crib death, diabetes, obesity and asthma.
"When a woman stops nursing, she unnecessarily puts herself and her baby at risk for diseases," said Alison Stuebe, a Brigham and Women's Hospital physician who has campaigned for a state-wide ban on the hospital gift packs. "Women who nurse are also found to have lower rates of breast and ovarian cancer," she added.
Backers of the ban say the formula gifts discourage new mothers from breast-feeding. Formula manufacturers call the ban unnecessary and doubt ending the decades-old custom would lead to a rise in the number of mothers who breast-feed.
Romney, who is weighing a bid for the White House in 2008, said mothers know what's best for their babies, not lawmakers, and women can decide whether to use the gifts.
"I'm not enthusiastic about the heavy arm of government coming in and saying: 'We think we know better than mothers, and we are going to decide for you,"' he told reporters.
Typically, a new mother receives the brand-name formula with coupons for more before leaving the hospital.
About 70 percent of U.S. women breast-fed at least once after bearing a child in 2003, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The number of those breast-feeding exclusively is about 62 percent seven days after birth, but fell to 14 percent at six months.
"We don't feel it is a good public health policy to give them out," said Anne Merewood, an assistant professor of pediatrics at Boston University School of Medicine. "New mothers are a vulnerable group and this is pure marketing.
"These are brand name products from the hospital. It looks like the hospital is endorsing it." she said
Here is an example letter taken with permission from a parenting website that I frequent that might give you some idea as to how you ought to start your letter/email:
Hello,
I am a mother of two, and I am in full support of the ban of formula-sponsored gift bags being distributed at hospitals. The gift bag marketing program - and let's be clear, this is a MARKETING program, not a benevolent congratulatory guft - undermines the fact that breastfeeding is better.
Governor Rmoney states that "'I think that the mother should have the right to decide whether she is going to use infant formula or breast-feed," Romney said. ''And allowing her to make that decision is best [done] by letting her have the formula, and if she wants to use it, fine."
I fail to understand how stopping the promotional give-away of formula samples in hospitals is akin to not providing a mother the choice of how to feed her child. If a new mother wants to formula feed, I'm sure she is well aware that she can buy formula at virtually any store in the state. The hospital gift bag of free samples of formula is nothing more than a marketing ploy aimed at inexperienced mothers, and it's shameful that our hospitals would knowingly send a new mother off, armed with a bag of goodies that are already setting her up to fail at breastfeeding, which is irrefutably the best health choice for both baby and mother.
Why not send fill the bag with different brands of breastpads? Flyers for books and contact information for local breastfeeding support? Instead, with my son at Mt. Auburn Hospital, I got a phamplet on breastfeeding (published by ENFAMIL) that was filled with misinformation, and was little more than an advertisement for their formula--along with the prerequisite jug of formula, which promptly got thrown out whedn I got home. Sure, the diaper bag was nice, but I threw that out too, after trying to rip the giant ENFAMIL badge off it and having all the lining fall out. Two samples of dreft and Huggies baby wash and a truckload of flyers for Parenting magazine aren't worth it.
If the formula companies want to advertise, fine, but keep their marketing ploys out of MA hospitals.
Regards,
*****