Formula Freebies...

There is a push in today's mother/baby units to remove the free sample formula.  In New York, Mayor Bloomberg is exercising his efforts to increase breastfeeding by telling formula companies that they may no longer provide free samples of formula to the new mothers.  Many people are up in arms over this.  People seem to think that he is trying to take away a mother's right to choose whether or not she breastfeeds her child.  In reality, he is trying to level the playing field. 

These companies are simply exercising a marketing campaign.  They are selling their product to new moms by giving it away first.  These same companies do not provide free samples for moms who choose to breastfeed exclusively.  I did not leave the hospital with breast milk storage bags given to me free.  No, I left with a can of formula, which I did not use.  I have been nursing my 15 month old since the day she was born, and have no use for formula.  If I did need it, I would be okay with the idea of having to buy it myself. 

No one is taking away the choice to breastfeed or bottle feed.  What is being taken away is the advertising to new moms who may be inclined to give up on breastfeeding when it gets tough, and sometimes it gets tough, because they have this free can of formula sitting there.  It is meant to encourage moms to give breastfeeding a chance.  This country is one of the only ones where breastfeeding is almost deemed as a bad thing by a large group of people.  They become vehement at the site of a woman nursing her baby.  Only in America.

We claim to stand for the free and the brave, but turn our backs on the most basic of sustainance giving practices, breastfeeding.  Our society is filled with over weight, under exercised, disease riddled people and we cannot figure out why.  Hello, wake up!!!  It is what we put into our bodies, starting from DAY 1!!!!

So I say, ditch the FREE formula at the hospitals!!!  It is still your choice whether or not to breastfeed or formula feed.  No one is taking that away from anyone.  You just have to pay for it, which you do anyway once you run out of that first can.