No Such Thing as a Free Lunch
Nancy Mohrbacher Sunday, October 2, 2011 at 7:05PM Not long ago I was contacted by an Associated Press reporter who asked for my help with an article she was writing on formula marketing by U.S. hospitals. She asked me to provide contact information for women whose babies had either been given formula in the hospital or who were given formula marketing bags on
discharge. This was not hard to do, as according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 25% of breastfed babies receive unnecessary formula supplementation during their hospital stay. And a recent article in Pediatrics estimates that 72% of U.S. hospitals distribute industry-sponsored formula sample packs to new parents
Thanks to my online contacts, within 2 hours 12 local mothers had volunteered to talk to this reporter. I had high hopes, but the article was a disappointment. Formula company spokespeople were given the last word, noting that “it’s good to have a back-up” and characterizing it as “irresponsible” not to give new mothers free formula in the hospital.
What was not reported was the true cost of this “free” formula to parents and the impact of hospital formula marketing on breastfeeding. The most recent study on the effect of hospital distribution of infant formula found that the mothers who received formula samples at discharge were less likely to be exclusively breastfeeding during each of their baby’s first 10 weeks as compared with women who did not receive them. For a summary of decades of research on this issue, click here.
What’s most important for parents to know, though, is that this is not just about breastfeeding. The reason formula companies work so hard to establish these unholy alliances with hospitals is that they know from their own research that due to fear of adverse reactions, most parents will continue to buy the formula their baby is given first.
The “free” formula included in those stylish marketing bags is each brand’s most expensive type. A cost analysis done by the outstanding nonprofit organization Ban the Bags found that formula-feeding families who use the high-priced formula in these marketing bags will spend $700 more during their baby’s first year than if they bought the generic store brand. This is the true cost of these bags to families. No wonder formula companies are so anxious to get this product into their hands!
What’s in it for hospitals? In many cases, in exchange for acting as formula marketing agents (and therefore endorsers of infant formula) hospitals receive unlimited free formula for their use. And when formula flows like water on maternity floors it’s more likely to be fed to newborns unnecessarily to the detriment of breastfeeding: a double benefit for the formula industry.
How can we convince hospitals that it is inappropriate and unethical to give formula samples to new parents? In many ways, as Ban the Bags points out, this practice is like giving out free Big Macs on the cardiac floor. Babies who receive infant formula have poorer health outcomes and higher health-care costs than exclusively breastfed babies. It makes far more sense for hospitals to focus their energies on marketing health, not commercial products. Click here for some ideas from Ban the Bags on how to sell this idea to your local hospital.
One last thing. If you received a formula marketing bag from your local hospital, don’t forget to write a letter of complaint to the hospital's administration. Patient satisfaction has a huge effect on hospital policy decisions. Use your influence for the benefit of all new parents.
Reader Comments (9)
Hi! I love this article! Do you mind if I also link it to my FB page? this is a very strong message! :-D
I don't know that this is really the area to fight for breastfeeding awareness. I think education of new mothers is much more crucial. My son has been exclusively breastfed except for one day of his life...on our first say home from the hospital I had a true emergency situation and had to return to the hospital via ambulance without my son. His grandmother fed him for the next 8 hours until we could be reunited with the "evil" formula from the hospital sample bag. Keeping that emergency can of formula out of new moms' hands is not going to convince those who do not want to breastfeed to do so... education has to start long before then in order to be successful.
Our hospital gave you a choice, a bag for formula feeding parents, or a bag for breastfeeding. Still got the cool diaper bag, but instead of formula samples, we got nursing pad samples, little tubes of lanisol (sp?) and ice packs for keeping pumped milk cool during transport. Also, the hospital had a lactation consultant that visited all new moms to help with breastfeeding issues. Seems like more hospitals could do that too.
I have to fully disagree with the commenter who said that this isn't the right way to fight for breastfeeding awareness. My hospital did NOT give out free formula, however, I was sent some in the mail from two formula companies, probably from signing up with some baby websites. I gave myself a hernia pushing out my daughter(why I am now STRONGLY against epidurals, I couldn't tell where I was pushing from!), and when my milk came in , I had extreme pain not only from a new hernia, but incredibly painful breasts. I was certain the entire time I was pregnant that I would breastfeed, but in that moment of weakness, I almost opened up the formula container. Luckily, my husband didn't let me! This is why it's SO important that free formula not be given, its only meant to undermine breastfeeding-- don't believe that they give it to you to have a "safe backup"-- that's crap! They want you to fail, and use their product!
E @ Oh! Apostrophe, it's nice that you had the formula on hand and no one had to run to a store during that time which I'm sure was somewhat chaotic and certainly scary. But I'm sure you realize that your situation is rare, not many mothers will have to be suddenly separated from their newborn babies. The research speaks for itself, over and over again, that sending formula home with new mothers decreases the likelihood a mother will successfully breastfeed.
My hospital also gave a "breastfeeding bag"... complete with a small container of "newborn" formula.
I was so happy to give birth at a breastfeeding certified hospital the second time around. Every single nurse was knowledgeable about breastfeeding, and as part of the their certification they were not ALLOWED to give out formula, nor to use pacifiers. The environment was incredibly supportive. I wish I'd had the same experience the first time around, before I was a breastfeeding pro. I received a bag with my older daughter and ended up giving her a few formula bottles when she was about 6 weeks old because I was too nervous to BF while out and about. Once I realized what I was doing to my body, I stopped supplementing all together, but it was all too tempting with all the free formula we had sitting in our pantry "going bad".
Thank you. If you believe that formula companies provide free samples of their product to be generous and altruistic, then you've bought their message, hook, line and sinker.
I understand why the doctors, nurses and other medical staff are complicit in this mess. It is so much easier for them to hand you a can of formula, measure EXACTLY how much the baby is taking in, and walk away. Most medical staff have very little training on breastfeeding, much less GOOD training on how to teach someone else to do it.
And you, my fellow mamas, are somehow made to feel guilty when it "just doesn't work" and your body just "didn't have enough milk." When in fact, you were simply victims of a system who set you up to fail.
Formula isn't inherently bad. But the people who sabotage your "choices" can certainly shoulder some blame.
I realize that my situation of being separated from my newborn was indeed (and thankfully) rare.
The hospital where I gave birth (and received the formula sample) was very pro-breastfeeding, and I had many visits from the lactation consultants. I was never once pressured to give formula or a pacifier, and my baby's bassinet tag said very clearly "BREAST" so that there was no confusion. I was encouraged, supported, and applauded while learning to breastfeed. In the face of good education and support, all the free formula in the world will not convince a mom to formula feed. BUT, without good education and support, restricting a free supply of formula will not change minds that have not been properly educated on breastfeeding (which can we all agree, is not always easy at first).
Making it harder to access formula does not make it easier to breastfeed.