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Baby Formula Now On The Banned Wagon

By: TobyToons (Diary)  |  July 31st, 2012 at 08:00 AM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

Nanny City

Background Info: Bloomberg to New Mothers: You Really Should Be Breastfeeding, You Know – Katie Pavlich (Townhall.com).

Don’t you all feel safer knowing that a politician is making your decisions for you?  He must be a modern day superman to be able to know so much about everyone’s well being.  Well, maybe just another Barney Fife, but with lots of money.

Cross-posted: TobyToons.com

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COMMENTS

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  • jakeofalltrades
    • throwback59

      he’s a real Boob.

      • Common_Cents

        nt

    • macbookben

      …has a critical shortage of breast milk in NYC. Please donate now.

  • mom2oneson

    This is about rejecting extremely heavy pharmaceutical marketing on mother baby or postpartum units. The units are filled with marketing materials and “free gifts” from pharmaceutical companies pushing their infant formula. They provide free formula to the hospitals and give the mother “gifts” of diaper bags, baby items, formula and small ready prepared formula bottles. The goal of it is so mothers will not be use formula, not establish breastfeeding, and then be buying their product for the next 12 months.
    Breastfeeding is so much work in the first few weeks. It takes waking up every 2 hours to feed the baby (or pump if necessary) to establish it. It’s extremely tiring. Those little “nursette” bottles that do not even need to be prepared are extremely tempting for an over tired mother. The first few days can be the difference between failure and success with breastfeeding for many mothers.
    Using bottles in the first few days or weeks can be very detrimental to establishing a breastfeeding relationship.

    The marketing is immoral IMO.

    Limiting marketing on postpartum floors is step in the WHO code of marketing of breast-milk substitutes.

    Here is a summary from breastfeedingonline.com of the WHO code.

    • mom2oneson

      nt

    • commonsenseobserver

      Unless he wants to volunteer at hospitals.

      • mom2oneson

        peddle their goods on new mothers.

        • lineholder

          At the risk of sounding like a raging feminist here….it should be the mother’s choice.

          I have three children and I breastfed all three of them. Even with my younger son, who stayed in NICU for six weeks. I recognize the fact that breastfeeding can actually contribute an infant’s immune system because of the antibodies that can be passed to the infant through breast milk. It was a wonderful bonding experience between myself and each of my three children, and I wouldn’t have traded that for the world.

          But breastfeeding requires a commitment on the part of the mother. It is something that they have to choose to do willingly. If it isn’t done willingly, then it can stir resentment on the part of the mother.

          The best time to provide a woman with information regarding the benefits of breastfeeding is prior to birth, so that the mother has an opportunity to weigh all the factors involved and make the commitment that will be required.

          To even try to do this after the baby is born, when so many drastic hormonal changes are taking place in a woman’s body that can contribute to various forms of post-partum depression…IMO, that’s a rather foolish way of approaching it.

          This may actually be a case of providers/nurses having good intentions, but they’re going about it the wrong way. If they’re smart, they’ll re-evaluate the way they are approaching this because it could very well end up doing more harm than good.

          As to Bloomberg, he’s already let it be known that he has a proclivity for manipulating situations for the purpose of utilizing government power as a way of modifying human behaviors.

          Do you think being manipulated or browbeaten into this is going to encourage mothers to make the necessary commitment? I don’t.

          • Christine

            The best time to provide a woman with information regarding the benefits of breastfeeding is prior to birth, so that the mother has an opportunity to weigh all the factors involved and make the commitment that will be required.

            This is the key, right here.

            I am a huge, major, serious breastfeeding advocate. I dont agree with what Bloomberg is doing.

            It’s up to the doctors and other medical professionals to talk to moms up front. They should not be scared to say one way is BETTER. They need to strike down the old wives’ tales out there saying it hurts or it messes up your body or you can’t drink, etc. They need to talk about the benefits, honestly.

            I think the merchandising is awful too, but with my first baby I simply refused it, threw it away when it was pushed on me, donated samples. It was easy because I’d educated myself and made my decision up front. It horrifies me that every doctor who’s ever brought up the subject to me has simply asked for my decision without a word of education, information, etc.

            NO MOM wants to be pushed to change her mind in the hospital. I have been there and believe me, it’s an awful situation. Educate moms, show them the best way and then support them. THAT’S how we get more babies breastfed and improve their lives from day 1.

    • PowerToThePeople

      you are pulling a dem move, leave out the worst and try to only show what you think we will feel good about.

      It does not matter whether all you said is all there is to it, it is none of the jackass’ business. Many mothers can not breastfeed, babies are allergic to the milk products contained in the mother’s milk, and most importantly, it is the mothers choice, not some politicians.

      Many a child has not breastfed and turned out just fine. On the other hand, many a child has breastfed and turned out horrible. Let the mother with the advice of her doctor decide what is best for them, not Bloomberg.

      We are adults, we can chose to get caught up in the marketing or chose to make our own informed decisions. If a person is too weak to not fall for marketing, their problem. But those weak people do not excuse government becoming our nanny.

      • mom2oneson

        It’s about not allowing the companies to bombard new mothers with their goods during a very vulnerable time.

        The marketing is very heavy.

        People often view healthcare workers as an authority. Parents have some normal anxiety about care for their baby. When a nurse hands them a bag of formula or they see advertisements of formula on pens, notepads, magazines, free diaper bags, they don’t just view it as marketing like they might a TV ad. It’s a healthcare authority telling them to use this.
        The risks of using formula are not only not shown but from their pictures they give a message that formula is superior to breastfeeding.

        This is about stopping the heavy marketing to these patients. They aren’t just giving a pamphlet about a treatment. They are given lots of free gifts specifically designed to interfere with establishing breastfeeding. The entire unit from the pediatricians to the patients are bombarded with it.

        • runner12

          Breastfeeding is promoted at every level as the primary route to go. No healthcare professional is going to advocate formula over breastfeeding. Not one. But they have a moral obligation to make sure that the mother knows about alternatives. At the end of the day, they want to ensure the infant gets fed.

          I fully trust that women have the intelligence and capability to make the right decision for their children. Mothers, in general, will seldom allow anyone to tell them how to raise their own child. We are not such an ignorant gender that we will be overwhelmed by marketing into making a decision when it comes to the well-being of our children.

          • mom2oneson

            Most healthcare workers do not encourage and support breastfeeding over formula feeding. Most are not educated enough about it. The big exception here are lactation consultants.

            They do not understand what it takes to establish a breastfeeding relationship or the harm that bottles and formula can do to that relationship in the first few days. Many will encourage new mothers to give the baby formula. They do not view breastfeeding as the standard.

            The hospital practices of keeping the baby in the nursery instead of doing assessments in the room and things like that can be detrimental too.

            Having a statement that breastfeeding is promoted here is very different than having healthcare staff that is educated about it and helps the patients. The hospital needs RNs and CNAs that know how to position a mother to nurse, how a baby latches on properly, and who will help her do that every 2 hours when necessary instead of a worker that says you sleep now and we will keep your baby in the nursery . They need workers that will call a lactation consultant when problems arise instead of telling the mother to formula feed and give them the convenient bottle provided free of charge from the pharm co.

          • streiff

            A baby knows intuitively what to do when confronted with a nipple, or anything else, touching its lips. It doesn’t take an RN to teach that. God did that work for us.

          • jakeofalltrades

            I am told that I rejected breast milk every time it was offered. Probably because: DUDE – she’s like, my mom!

          • runner12

            In every hospital I have been in and/or heard of from friends and family, breastfeeding was strongly encouraged. It was one of the first things that was talked about after the baby was born. A lactation specialist was always on hand to answer any questions or to aid in any way.

            Even out of the hospital when my friends have had challenges, their OBGYN has always brought in a lactation specialist when needed and/or has received counsel from the pediatrician.

            Even though I do not work in this field, I am a health care professional and contrary to your opinion we actually are educated and have to meet professional standards of care. Honestly, I know of no hospital who just “babysits” the baby so mom can sleep. In those cases, it may be due to a result of a traumatic birth or a medical situation in which the mother needs rest for the safety of her own health.

            I do not mean to be rude, but your comments appear to be based on literature you have read rather than any real experience inside of a hospital.

          • wrenhal

            And 10 births, my wife was given the option EVERY time of having a lactation consultant come in and talk to her about breastfeeding. Not only that, but they specifically monitored the baby in the room unless we specifically asked for some time away so the wife could sleep. Our wishes of breastfeeding first and foremost were respected each and every time.

          • Christine

            No healthcare professional is going to advocate formula over breastfeeding. Not one.

            More than likely, they won’t advocate either. They will simply say “either is fine”.

            They are too scared and often too uneduated to do otherwise, so moms are left to get information, and often old wives’ tales and horror stories, from other moms.

            THAT is what should be fixed. Not the crap Bloomberg is trying to pull.

          • runner12

            to the mother. As you stated above, pushing a mother either direction after birth is not a good idea.

            I am sorry, but calling nurses and doctors uneducated about breastfeeding is just a false accusation. Most gently encouraged breastfeeding but leave the decision up to the mother. This is how it should be.

            Doctors, nurses, and other health care workers cannot make people make the right decisions. We present the facts and leave the rest up to the patient.

          • Christine

            believe me. I have balanced my views on breastfeeding and my political views. Pushing women to make a decision is one thing, but GOVERNMENT doing so is wrong. It is between the doctor and patient, just like any other medical decision.

            That said there ARE uneducated/uninterested medical professionals out there. It’s a shame, but it’s no less true in the medical profession than any other. I’ve heard the horror stories. “Often” was probably an exaggeration, so apologies for that…but it isn’t “never” either.

            I’ve seen a huge difference in the way hospitals handle this. When my 11-year old was born, I had to fight the hospital over everything. They were not BF friendly. When my 4-year old was born, the same hospital had a completely different attitude. It was refreshing.

          • runner12

            The vast amount of hospitals are great, but there are stinkers out there. I have often found that the private, religious hospitals tend to be much better and more caring than the state hospitals. Not a big surprise.

        • streiff

          I’ll have to admit some of my fondest memories involve truly stupid women — though they weren’t breastfeeding at the time — but the idea that you’re trying to foist on us, that the government needs to protect mothers from their own ignorance, is really quite noxious.

          • APA Guy

            …though I don’t hear quite so much outrage when the government tells women what to think and/or do. It’s truly amazing how liberals abdicate their rights so easily when big brother tells them it’s time to acquiesce and bow.

        • PowerToThePeople

          Bullcrap.

        • tnfriendofcoal101368

          Where does it stop? Does Nanny Bloomberg pass laws making it illegal for McDonalds to hand out happy meal toys or force McDonalds to take out the cheeseburger and fries for fruit and broccoli to do a happy meal? The fat in that cheeseburger and fries will have a longer term detriment to the childs health than formula vs breastmilk? Got to stop that evil advertising.

          The point I am making, at some point the government has to take a hike and allow people to make the best decisions they can with the information they have (and never in human history has there been a people with more access to information than US citizens, right here, right now).

          If Bloomberg wants to spend a couple of billion dollars educating women on the advantages of breastmilk, I’d say go ahead – he’s worth about 20 billion and it’s his money. If he uses his position as Mayor to force a decision or stop advertising, he’s overstepped his bounds.

        • funwithknives

          in regards to all this ‘closet marketing’ you seem to be so fearful of.

          Has it really come to this? That Americans are so pitiful as a community that hey cannot think through a situation from end to end?
          …that a martinet like Bloomberg and The U N in any form knows better than a mother {with an ingrained inner ” ultimate pupose ” in her child’s life and health} can for one minute shill for their point of view, without some blow-back?

          The community here has always pushed for thought-out choices, when moral. {Traditional morals, but that’s O K Here}

          Someone or something yammering at me in any form, raises my antennae, and gets my skin a-crawling. Might be genetic, but none-the-less, there it is.
          How about we all use the brain Our Creator gave us and use some objectivity, in all things?

        • Jack_Savage

          Let me tell you about those evil formula companies and the horrible nurses that peddle for them.

          Our first children were twins, and it was a bit of a shock financially. My wife breastfed, but we soon needed to supplement with formula, then went to formula exclusively. Not only did we get an abundance of free samples, which helped incredibly, but we got solid information on which formula was best for our children, what bottle nipple delivered the formula in the best way depending on the stage of growth the child was in.

          These companies have done extensive research on proper nutrition, and have allowed women to take control of the feeding of their children. As runner12 noted in her excellent comment below, some women are unable to breastfeed, and others have older children that require care so the time spent breastfeeding may be better spent elsewhere. The bottom line is that the Mom decides.

          Bloomberg is a meddling, preening ass. Don’t defend him.

          dadtothreedaughters

    • runner12

      cannot breastfeed or choose not to. As a women, I strongly dislike the pattern that I am seeing of “militant” breastfeeders who put down women who either cannot do so or choose not to. The guilt that the former feel is really sad and it should not be so.

      While breastfeeding is ideal and overall healthier for babies, no woman should be made to feel she is “less than” because she is physically not able to do so. I see nothing wrong with hospitals providing an alternative to these mothers. It can aid them in determining which formula is best for the baby.

      At the end of the day though, it is none of Bloomberg’s business.

      • mom2oneson

        I’ve seen this reaction though.
        Mothers will automatically defend their own practices when they see you doing something different.
        I nursed my son. How many times when the subject was not on breastfeeding did a woman tell me why she couldn’t breastfeed or did not breastfeed her now aged teenager? Like we were talking about something completely different and she would bring up why she didn’t nurse 15 or 8 or 3 years ago.

        I see the same thing with not allow television. When I’ve said he hasn’t watched that or we don’t watch TV or movies they start to explain why they allow it? I never said anything about their choice, just that he will not know what they are talking about. I’ve only talked about my own family.

        Formula is not banned! They want to limit how much will be marketed on the floor. Don’t view this as they are not allowing mothers to make a choice. They are limiting the very heavy marketing.

        It’s about his business that it’s a positive public health step. I guess the issue is how much of a role does the gov take in promoting or providing for public health. I’m sure he signs things for city water, sanitation, promoting fitness, parks, flouride, and things like that too.

        • http://www.tobytoons.com TobyToons

          I agree with one part of what you say (that this isn’t a ban, but is just limiting the heavy advertising). But it is very Nanny-ish and heavy handed on Bloomy’s part.

          However, taking away the heavy marketing from the formula makers and giving it over to the Le Leche crowd doesn’t solve anything except force people to think the way he wants them to. Nobody HAS to choose formula just because it is heavily advertised. Saying that heavy advertising makes women choose formula over breast milk seems like saying that bankers are at fault for giving offering huge loans to people, but the people that take them (knowing they can’t possibly pay for them) bear no responsibility in the matter.

          Technically, this stuff is taking place at the smallest level of government (city versus county versus state versus federal), so I guess people can show their disapproval by leaving NYC (probably not likely) or voting him out next round.

          Also, if he is so concerned about the health of the little ones, why is he OK with abortions. That would seem to be the biggest threat to health I can think of for the little ones.

    • streiff

      over formula but the WHO Code is little short of totalitarian.

    • funwithknives

      with this sort of mania.

      * Twice per year all doctors doing business in NYC Have To provide blood sugar test/glucose results on all diabetic patients. {and those that are ‘on the margins’} Said results are to be forwarded to the NYC Health Commission. What other city does this stuff and why does Bloomberg demand this?
      If there are any NYC residents out there {or if you have relatives who can add-on } please tell me I’m wrong or outdated.
      Are you, or have you gotten ‘warning letters’ of a sort?

  • streiff

    that as he can’t breastfeed this is none of his business.

    • CincoSolas_del_Bronx

      whodathunkit

      • Jack_Savage

        Hadn’t thought of that one.

      • macbookben

        …thanks, padre!

    • http://www.tobytoons.com TobyToons

      “Put our breasts in a lockbox, AND KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF!!!!”

    • kipling

      Breastfeeding is more convenient if one is at home with the child. Mothers who work outside the home and away from the child must pump to keep the lactating cycle going and to stockpile milk for the child while the mother is away

      Does Bloomberg believe that a young mother’s place is in the home?

      • mom2oneson

        It’s them not being bombarded with pharm marketing at delivery.

        Since you brought it up though many mothers work and breastfeed. Most mothers have off six weeks to recover from childbirth. That is enough time to get breastfeeding established. There are mothers though with babies in the NICU who pump for long periods of time.

        Some mothers who work pump and dump, and the daycare gives the baby formula. Some pump and keep the milk in a formula or fridge and give it to the daycare. It’s hard to be away from a little baby and a great comfort to both to be able to have the closeness of nursing when together, like at night.

        • PowerToThePeople

          while you are way behind. Your arguments is absurd and ignorant, you have no clue as to what you are talking about, and we do not take kindly to nanny state politicians or nanny state sympathizers such as yourself around here.

          Just move on to some other leftist talking point where you do not appear so ignorant.

          • PowerToThePeople

            Your argument is absurd. Fingers to fast for my brain.

          • APA Guy

            Wow, if only Limbaugh had told them how they needed to behave as mothers, perhaps they would be outraged.

            Hypocrites all…IT’S MY BODY…except, of course, when the almighty government tells me how to use it.

          • APA Guy

            nt

          • PowerToThePeople

            they love to proclaim the whole my body my way no one can tell me anything until their cult leaders the dems tell them what to do. The fem movement on the left is nothing but hypocrisy.

  • proudmarinemom

    when I adopted my toddler son and, later, my four-month-old daughter? I guess I fell prey to the Evil Soy Formula Marketeers, and I probably ruined my children’s chances of becoming Olympic gold medalists or something. Of course, producing breast milk might have been an option, with medications, coaching from La Leche League and a Shop Vac from Home Depot …on second thought, Bloomberg would have had an easier time nursing my kids than I would’ve.

    The man is just an idiot. Period.

    • mom2oneson

      There are alternatives for adoptive mothers who want to breastfeed or give formula at the breast. You are mocking those.

      He is not banning formula from the city. The marketing that goes on to mothers and healthcare staff that just delivered on a mother baby floor is what he wants to limit.

      • proudmarinemom

        Tried those “alternatives”, honey-bunch. They all sucked (quite literally and painfully).

        Bottom line is this: Mayors have no business ‘limiting the marketing’ of anything, with the possible exceptions of tobacco and alcohol/drugs to minors, and those only through the legislature.

        TTFN (Ta Ta For Now) Sorry, couldn’t resist.

        • mom2oneson

          equating a breast pump to a Home Depot shop vac

          • streiff

            the shop vac is a much more capable and necessary piece of equipment.

          • proudmarinemom

            is good fun. Should add that any woman who finds my Shop Vac reference a form of mockery would probably be a hoot at a cocktail party.

            Maybe I should have said, “I tried Hoovering myself, but the baby was still screaming for her bottle and I was so brainwashed by all the confusing marketing and free stuff and so sleep-deprived, I, well, doctor, I just SNAPPED. I gave her Enfamil. And now she has 3.2 GPA instead of a 4.0! Damn those capitalists!”

          • Melody Warbington (rwm52)

            Since we’re sharing, I tried a couple of different types of Shop vacs when I went back to work (after 3 mos.) and never could get them to work. I ended up using my own God-given equipment and actually got proficient enough to stock the fridge each night with enough bottles to take to the sitter the next day. I did this for 3 mos., so we hit the 6 mos. mark. My son turned out to have pretty good book smarts, but his political views need a lot of work. How’d that happen when I did everything right?

            Nursing at bedtime was one of the single most rewarding experiences of being a mother, but pumping for bottles also gave my husband the opportunity to feed our son and feel some of that closeness.

          • Jack_Savage

            I was required to purchase a breast pump in an emergency situation, no research, no nothing. I went to the store affiliated with the hospital and started looking around. I was considering something that looked like it could drain the basement of water, but was balking. The salesperson was a guy, and was going over the features and benefits, but I still hesitated.

            Finally, he looked and me and said, “One year warranty, parts and labor.” I looked at him and said, “Sold.” I remember that when it was in operation, the TV went fuzzy, so it was used on Sunday afternoons only at halftime.

          • lineholder

            One from my mother. The second from me.

            While my mother was working in OB, one of her coworkers was using a pump while at work. She’d store the breast milk in a covered glass in the refrigerator in the employees lounge. The mother came into the lounge during lunch break one day to put more milk she had just pumped into the glass. It was gone! The glass was there, but it was empty. She said, “Okay, what happened to my breast milk?” One of the doctors sitting in the lounge started turning green around the gills, said “Oh, no…excuse me a minute” and very promptly made a run to the bath room. He had drunk it!

            Second one…after each of my children was born, I had an excessive amount of breast milk. (Not as nice as people might think…constantly taking a second set of clothing with you everywhere you go…my husband and I sleeping in separate beds…plastic mattress protectors…not what you would call “paradise”, okay?)

            Anyway, when my second son was born and he was going to have to spend some time in NICU, I still wanted to breast feed so I used a pump. The NICU gave me a dozen of those 4 oz. bottles, told me to bring in what I could every day and they would use it when feeding my son. The next day, when I brought in all 12 and told them that I had actually had to throw some breast milk away because I didn’t have enough bottles, they sent me home with 18. The next day and every day after for 4 weeks, they got 16 filled bottles back. Since my son couldn’t consume that much milk by himself everyday, they asked permission to use some of it for the other babies in NICU.

            From that day on, they called me “Guernsey”. I’d come in the door and they’d yell, “Milk here’s”.

            You know, I didn’t really think much about it at the time. But when my son got healthy enough to come home, one of the nurses said that they really appreciated it…that the antibodies in the breast milk meant that some of the babies could have a better chance of surviving in the long run. So I was glad it happened that way.

          • Jack_Savage

            That’s what conservatives do with abundance – we share!

          • http://libertynews.com/ mbecker908

            the only thing being mocked here will be you.

            And yes, I said “thing” and I meant “thing”.

      • APA Guy

        FYI, father of three here, so I’m familiar with the marketing end of this business.

      • http://libertynews.com/ mbecker908

        And trust me on this one, I’ve got a bunch of back up questions if the answer is “yes”.

        And just in case you don’t know me, Power to the People is my “nice” persona.

        • mom2oneson

          Your nice persona?
          Where is my favorite white princess!!! I forget her name. :) F something what is it?

          • http://libertynews.com/ mbecker908

            are a raving idiot. You have no clue about the concept of “limited government” nor do you have any idea what people like Bloomberg and Obama are capable of.

            Bloomberg demands breast feeding. Obama mandates health insurance as defined by the government. They both demand that we turn in our fire arms. I’m sure they have no problem with Boston and Chicago attempting to drive a stake through the first amendment by making a business owner’s opinion part of the requirements for a business license.

            If you really believe this crap, why not take it to the logical level have the DHHS ban formula. Heck, let’s have them ban taking kids home from the hospital in anything other than an electric vehicle or by public transportation.

            You’ve hit a new level of stupidity for posting here. Hell, you make garfield look good by comparison.

          • tnfriendofcoal101368

            I don’t believe there is an operating for profit hospital in the US without a lactation specialist on their maternity ward. The reason I believe this is because I am a believer in free markets and quite frankly currently in the US, breastfeeding is the most popular option for new mothers. Not having the lactation specialist would put the hospital at a competitive disadvantage vis a vis it’s competitors. Given that, I question why this reg? It seems to me a way to try subtly to force new mothers into a choice by limiting information on alternative choices.

        • tnfriendofcoal101368

          • proudmarinemom

            “…and I’m here to help you hook yourself up to this thing so your baby will not have her future destroyed by capitalist pig soy milk mongers.”

  • Tbone

    That would seem to fit the Bloomberg logic.

    Bloomberg should have all his money taken away and be forced to live on the streets. The man is part Hitler, part Napoleon and truly part Barney Fife.

  • streiff

    I’m the father of three kids. All three were delivered in different hospitals. In each case breastfeeding was encouraged and there were “lactation specialists” on hand. We didn’t perceive any effort to push formula, quite to the contrary breastfeeding was encouraged.

    This is just another example of Mayor Bloomberg, having solved all the big problems NYC has, getting down to the brass tacks of making everyone healthy no matter how painful or inconvenient it may be to them.

    • http://libertynews.com/ mbecker908

      We had exactly the same experience at two different hospitals and with two different OBGyns.

    • mom2oneson

      Many are not.

      • http://libertynews.com/ mbecker908

        ?

      • APA Guy

        If there are hospitals out there that are not breastfeeding-friendly, they are few and far between. Nearly every hospital I have worked with or had children delivered at have gone out of their way to encourage breastfeeding.

        I’m sorry…there is simply no justification for this government intrusion unless someone wants to be intruded upon.

      • westcoastpatriette

        just to make a point in Bloomberg’s face.

        Butt out, Bloomberg. You are abusing your power by trying to influence the free market.

        • proudmarinemom

          You’re on to something, wcp.

          • westcoastpatriette

            I like that…Big Gulp Baby Formula. :)

        • http://libertynews.com/ mbecker908

          Count me as an investor.

        • macbookben

          I couldn’t resist.

          • tnfriendofcoal101368

            nt

    • Melody Warbington (rwm52)

      and I had the same experience in Atlanta. I also have 6 nephews and nieces, 2 great-nieces and 1 great-nephew, all born in various hospitals with different OBGYN’s. We were all encouraged to breast-feed and had help in the various hospitals.

      In fact, in my case, the lactation specialist was sent in with the assumption that I was going to breast-feed. There was even a class for new mothers so we could share problems/solutions and help each other feel at ease. Further, it was discussed and encouraged in our pre-natal classes.

  • recentlyenlightened

    From Day 1, in my childbirth class, we were taught that anything other than breast milk for the first 6 months was unacceptable. “Nothing but breastmilk” was repeated ad nauseum throughout the course. In the hospital I was greeted by a lactation specialist immediately following delivery and coached about latching technique and the like. Throughout my stay at the hospital the nurses helped with positioning, advice, etc. When I was exhausted from lack of sleep, one nurse offered a botttle so I could get some rest and I nearly took her head off. I attended a breast feeding seminar while in the hospital. Upon release, an appointment was made for me at a local center where I would go and they would weigh the baby before and after feeding to insure it was working.

    After a couple of weeks my daughter was feeding almost constantly and crying the rest of the time. I would cry with her because I felt like a failure. The breastmilk was not satisfying her hunger. My doctor suggested all kinds of things to help me and keep me breast feeding b/c I was adamant that there was no other alternative. My husband offered formula a couple times and almost lost his head, too. This continued until I went back to work. She was only sleeping about 2 hours at a time at 3 months, I was exhausted and miserable, but I was determined “nothing but breastmilk” would pass her lips until 6 months. Pumping wasn’t working and we eventually had to go to formula some of the time. She immedialtely started sleeping better, I felt better, my marriage ultimately survived.

    My point: No one mentioned that for some it just doesn’t work. No one told me that I might not produce a sufficient supply of milk. I felt like a complete failure as a mother and a woman for close to three months and never considered the alternatives b/c it was just “wrong”. I got all those freebies at the hospital and I was still adamant about breast feeding. There is a happy medium somewhere in there. We should work on finding that instead of “banning” anything. When it was time to use formula, we had a ton of literature to read through to make an informed decision and we were thankful for that.

    With my next child, I will not take the childbirth course and now know that a combination of both is just as healthy for both me, mentally, and my child, physically and mentally. I resent the “brainwashing” I received and will enjoy my next infant’s first few months much more!

    • lineholder

      You’re correct. There are situations where the mother may very badly want to breastfeed their child but it just doesn’t work out in a way that benefits either child or mother.

      And some of the folks working in OB career field are a bit inclined to try to make mothers feel guilty if they don’t live up to expectations in this area. I can see how it would only add even more pressure onto the mother.

      I was fortunate in my experiences. I have known other woman who weren’t as fortunate. In fact, my mother (and you can read her story below) was actually one of the women who fell into that category.

      If it’s any encouragement to you, in my mom’s situation, breastfeeding didn’t work for her when I or the eldest of my two brothers were born. But with the younger of my brothers, it did. Her body simply changed over time in a way that allowed it to be successful.

      • recentlyenlightened

        for the encouragement and the stories. With the help of my mom I did a lot of research after I realized the problem wasn’t mine alone. I now know that if breast feeding doesn’t work there are alternatives and it doesn’t mean I’m a failure. It’s genetics. I will go in to our next pregnancy with open eyes and armed with knowledge. I will try it again and pray for better results.

        I have spoken with lots of women now that suffered the same problems I did. There are so many hormones, feelings, expectations, etc. when trying to adjust to motherhood (and fatherhood) for the first time. The feeling of failure is magnified and unfortunately logic (especially when offered by others) is not always well received. I hope health care professionals on all levels can learn to be honest with women. Breast feeding is ideal, but sometimes not possible (at least exclusively). Offering alternatives like supplementing with one or the other would greatly reduce the burden on those that were educated the way I was.

        Blessings……..

  • lineholder

    consider taking on this particular issue in a graphic form.

    After word came out that Bloomberg was pursuing this course of action, I couldn’t help but take a trip down memory lane. My mother, who died about 27 years ago, was head nurse in the OB department of the hospital where she worked for many years. She was an amazingly passionate woman when it came to the topic of childbirth/childrearing.

    This was back in the days prior to the time that Lamaze became popular. In fact, she made a significant contribution of her own in bringing Lamaze to the SE US. At the time, very few doctors supported Lamaze, and she couldn’t depend on their support. That didn’t stop her though. We had pregnant women and their husbands lying around our house every Tuesday and Thursday night, watching childbirth/childrearing videos and doing breathing exercises…..heee-heeee-heee-HOOOO became a familiar sound around our house.

    She was a very staunch believer that the first few weeks after birth could set the tone of the relationship between mother and child for many years to come, and she contributed in what ways she knew to improving that relationship.

    She worked with the La Leche League. (She was even part of the group who designed the body-front baby-carrier that ended up being sold commercially later on. I still have the newspaper clipping that came out locally)

    But when it came to breastfeeding…she was forever and always a realist. Some mothers are willing to make the commitment. Others are not. For those who weren’t, she’d tell them the benefits to the child and try to convince them to at least supplement formula with breast milk, but she wouldn’t try to push them into it.

    I suspect that she would be crying out in a loud voice against what’s going on right now. It would infuriate her as few things could.

    Bloomberg is as irresponsible as they come by even remotely attempting to misuse government power on this matter. I hope more people will be calling him on it.

  • fightnright

    It is true that in a few demographic clusters, there are are significant numbers of women who will feed babies condensed milk, sweetened condensed milk, rice or almond milk, and other specialty milks that are laden with salt and or sugar, and lack vital fats and digestable proteins necessary for infants. Or the moms will feed plump three-month-olds with one percent or fat free milks; thin babies with cream or cereal-laced milks well before their digestion can handle them, introducing grains that may cause a lifetime of skin or gut problems by disposing babies to lactic intolerance or gluten allergies. Still other families which follow extreme health or nutritional regimens (for instance, macrobiotic) will, without due research or medical consultation impose such diets on their children even from birth.

    If a child is breast fed through the first year, the infant’s future health is less likely to be compromised. This only happens in a small proportion of the population however, and given all families, there will always be those who despite breast feeding, will make other personal choices – and some possible poor choices – in feeding and raising their offspring.

    We have seen how leftists are using medicine/nutrition and the environment to socialize broad segments of the US economy. This is just another attempt to exploit the ignorance of a few to impose government control of the whole. If ever it was mandated for me to sit through a lecture ordered by a bureaucrat to re-educate me to feed my own child in the government approved fashion, I’d give one warning to the lecturer to get out of my face, and see if I could find a lawyer who would take this to the courts.

    • cbartlett

      This should be a” free market/allow capitalism to work” issue. Hospitals should respond to needs/want/demands of their employees and clients. Doctors, nurses and specialists KNOW what is best, what is practical and what choices should be given. Parents choose where they want to have their baby. I visited the hospitals before I delivered my 3 children and I had the ability to ask questions and observe so that I knew what the philosphy in that place was about both childbirth and feeding options before I made my choice.

      Our family chose to make the sacrifices necessary for me to stay at home with my babies and I breastfed all of them in an ideal environment. I just kept my 4 month-old grandson for the weekend and gave him bottles for 3 days. My daughter knows very well how much I believe in breastfeeding and she nursed for a couple of months but she is facing going back to work next week. She is a certified teacher but since she now works in technology support and does not have her own classroom and shares a small office with 3 others, she knew pumping was not going to be a very easy choice. Yes – she could raise a stink and force the school district to supply her with a place and the time to do it, but she has chosen to not make waves this early in her career. I don’t have to like her choice, but it is her choice to make. I support her and her family and I am very glad that good formulas are available and that my grandbaby is healthy.

      There is no way that the government does anything better than the free market can. Any time the government picks winners and losers, the free market is distorted. Perhaps, in addition to telling Bloomberg to mind his own business, we should investigate and ask why these pharmeceutical companies have the funding to provide so many free goodies to these mothers. From what I understand, the Big Pharma profits are completely distorted by government regulations regarding Medicare and insurance. Making rules and laws to “protect” the 2% of the population that is stupid takes away the liberty of the other 98%. Attempting to legislate stupidity never works.

      • fightnright

        - and there will be in all population samples many women who do not prefer to breast feed (my own family is a mixed, er, bag of formula/breast fans, and I’m non-militant on the issue) – in those less informed about infant nutrition who choose not to breast feed, their babies would ironically do better if they *would* stick to formula, instead of the inappropriate alternatives.

        I’ve worked with mothers from pretty rough/dysfunctional backgrounds, some institutionalized and only allowed visits with even their newborns. Some are later convinced to feed other milks because they cost less, some are swayed by their own mothers with advice from ‘the old world’ (where they are beginning to be impressed with the concept of ‘superior’ commercial products), and some, believe it or not, think that their own palates should determine whatever is in the bottle that might make a fussy, picky infant a better eater.

        (One mother tasted infant formula and said it was ‘ugh so thin and bland’, and so she began to give her baby sweetened condensed milk in her homemade formula, because it ‘tasted better’….*sigh*)

        But three cheers to all the Red-State-minded moms and grannies posting at redstate dot com!!! I never dreamed just how many of us were here….

  • http://pocketchangeproductions.net/ anotherindyfilmguy

    But then I don’t live in NYC and don’t have to put up with it.

    The best thing out of Bloomberg is the high profile negative example to the rest of the country of where people with his attitude would take us all. hOpefully this trend will be reversed more in November…

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