More Hospitals Ban Free Infant Formula Samples
Health Day News
A nationwide effort to stop new mothers from receiving free infant formula samples appears to be having an effect.
In 2011, nearly half of about 2,600 hospitals in a survey by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said they no longer gave formula samples to breastfeeding mothers, up from one-quarter of hospitals in 2007. The survey did not ask about giving samples to non-nursing mothers, The New York Times reported.
The health authorities and breastfeeding advocates leading the effort to ban formula samples say the samples -- which often come in fashionable bags with infant formula company logos -- can lure women away from breastfeeding.
Their campaign is leading to changes. For example, all hospitals in Massachusetts and Rhode Island have halted free formula samples, and 24 hospitals in Oklahoma recently agreed to a ban, The Times reported.
Formula makers and some mothers say the samples are a healthy alternative that can provide relief if breastfeeding causes fatigue, pain or frustration. They dispute the charge that the samples can sway mothers from breastfeeding.
"We're not anti-formula," Dr. Melissa Bartick, a founder of Ban the Bags, a breast-feeding advocacy group, The Times reported. "If a woman makes an informed choice to formula-feed, the hospital should provide that formula. But hospitals shouldn't be marketing it."
No comments:
Post a Comment