If you're having a baby in New York City, don't plan on taking home free formula when you deliver.
Public hospitals in NYC have banned passing out formula samples to new mothers. This comes on the heels of the mayor's campaign to promote exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of all infants in New York City.
I'm a huge advocate of breastfeeding, but I have mixed feelings about this.
While their intentions are good, the mayor and the "Ban The Bags" people seem to have missed a few notable points.
The AAP's recommendation of exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months sounds good, but it just isn't practical, nor do legions of pediatricians make that recommendation to the parents of their patients. Both my kids started solids before 6 months and we did it because they were ready. At 4 months, Johnny was intensely interested in mealtime and would try to grab food off our plates. At 5 1/2 months, Maureen went from sleeping through the night to waking every two hours to eat. Should I have denied Johnny's developmental readiness or Maureen's obvious hunger to comply with a blanket recommendation?
There's a reason why only 40% of women nurse to six months, other than starting solids earlier, and it's because breastfeeding is HARD! It might be natural, but it isn't always easy, and even the best of efforts don't guarantee success. Although I nursed Johnny for 11 months, I struggled in the beginning, and it never really got to be what I would call easy. Then my milk dried up and I had to stop. I think it's way to easy to manipulate statistics to suit an agenda. Did I want to nurse to one year? Certainly, but it didn't work out that way.
Look around at the images presented by the media, at the clothes teenagers wear, the magazines we read. This country is obsessed with boobs, but women who breastfeed in public are terrorized. A billboard featuring a scantily clad woman gets no attention, but a picture of a baby breastfeeding on the cover of a magazine generates thousands of angry letters. It's great and wonderful to say "We support breastfeeding," but another to actually do it. In a society where breastfeeding moms are removed from airplanes, asked to leave restaurants and kicked out of businesses, not to mention the dirty looks, eye rolling and snide comments, is it any wonder that many women feel too self conscious or nervous to breastfeed in public? Instead of objectifying women, why can't the Powers That Be present a different perspective on women, babies and breastfeeding?
Women are already discriminated against in the workplace. That is an undeniable fact. Since more mothers are returning to work after having babies, it's also becoming clear how unsupportive employers are to the needs of lactating mothers. Any working mom will tell you how hard it is to keep milk supply up, find the time in the work day to pump, and find someplace other than a bathroom in which to do it in. Instead of making general statements about what babies need, why doesn't the mayor consider legislation protecting the rights of breastfeeding mothers in the workplace, or create tax incentives for businesses who encourage and support breastfeeding workers? The best way to ensure success for a nursing mom is support, not guilt or pressure. Why widen the divide between formula feeding moms and breastfeeding moms?
In addition, the economic and social trends within breastfeeding need to be addressed. Minority women with no education beyond high school are the least likely to breastfeed, while upper class white women with college degrees are the most likely. Why is that? Is it due to better access to prenatal care? Better support networks? Better access to lactation consultants? Better jobs? A better education equals a better job, and a better job increases the likelihood of a supportive work environment and appropriate facilities.
Do I care that the hospitals aren't sending home samples of formula? Not really. In fact, it's about time that businesses stopped making recommendations, especially those related to our health, based on who their funding comes from. To me, it's unethical to push formula because you're being paid to do so. Can you really trust the judgement of someone who has a vested interest in how you choose to feed your child?
Instead of a superficial move to "encourage breastfeeding," NYC and the rest of the country would do better to address the underlying issues that make breastfeeding so controversial.
Is breastmilk better than formula? Yes, hands down. But does it automatically make you a better mom if you breastfeed, and will your kids grow up to be fat, sickly dunderheads if you use formula? Of course not, on both counts.
I believe that babies should be breastfed if possible. I believe that every new mom who is physically capable should give it a try, AND be given not only the tools to be successful, but the freedom to stop if it doesn't work out or if she doesn't like it. I believe in the freedom to choose what is best for our babies, our bodies, our families.
Public hospitals in NYC have banned passing out formula samples to new mothers. This comes on the heels of the mayor's campaign to promote exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of all infants in New York City.
I'm a huge advocate of breastfeeding, but I have mixed feelings about this.
While their intentions are good, the mayor and the "Ban The Bags" people seem to have missed a few notable points.
The AAP's recommendation of exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months sounds good, but it just isn't practical, nor do legions of pediatricians make that recommendation to the parents of their patients. Both my kids started solids before 6 months and we did it because they were ready. At 4 months, Johnny was intensely interested in mealtime and would try to grab food off our plates. At 5 1/2 months, Maureen went from sleeping through the night to waking every two hours to eat. Should I have denied Johnny's developmental readiness or Maureen's obvious hunger to comply with a blanket recommendation?
There's a reason why only 40% of women nurse to six months, other than starting solids earlier, and it's because breastfeeding is HARD! It might be natural, but it isn't always easy, and even the best of efforts don't guarantee success. Although I nursed Johnny for 11 months, I struggled in the beginning, and it never really got to be what I would call easy. Then my milk dried up and I had to stop. I think it's way to easy to manipulate statistics to suit an agenda. Did I want to nurse to one year? Certainly, but it didn't work out that way.
Look around at the images presented by the media, at the clothes teenagers wear, the magazines we read. This country is obsessed with boobs, but women who breastfeed in public are terrorized. A billboard featuring a scantily clad woman gets no attention, but a picture of a baby breastfeeding on the cover of a magazine generates thousands of angry letters. It's great and wonderful to say "We support breastfeeding," but another to actually do it. In a society where breastfeeding moms are removed from airplanes, asked to leave restaurants and kicked out of businesses, not to mention the dirty looks, eye rolling and snide comments, is it any wonder that many women feel too self conscious or nervous to breastfeed in public? Instead of objectifying women, why can't the Powers That Be present a different perspective on women, babies and breastfeeding?
Women are already discriminated against in the workplace. That is an undeniable fact. Since more mothers are returning to work after having babies, it's also becoming clear how unsupportive employers are to the needs of lactating mothers. Any working mom will tell you how hard it is to keep milk supply up, find the time in the work day to pump, and find someplace other than a bathroom in which to do it in. Instead of making general statements about what babies need, why doesn't the mayor consider legislation protecting the rights of breastfeeding mothers in the workplace, or create tax incentives for businesses who encourage and support breastfeeding workers? The best way to ensure success for a nursing mom is support, not guilt or pressure. Why widen the divide between formula feeding moms and breastfeeding moms?
In addition, the economic and social trends within breastfeeding need to be addressed. Minority women with no education beyond high school are the least likely to breastfeed, while upper class white women with college degrees are the most likely. Why is that? Is it due to better access to prenatal care? Better support networks? Better access to lactation consultants? Better jobs? A better education equals a better job, and a better job increases the likelihood of a supportive work environment and appropriate facilities.
Do I care that the hospitals aren't sending home samples of formula? Not really. In fact, it's about time that businesses stopped making recommendations, especially those related to our health, based on who their funding comes from. To me, it's unethical to push formula because you're being paid to do so. Can you really trust the judgement of someone who has a vested interest in how you choose to feed your child?
Instead of a superficial move to "encourage breastfeeding," NYC and the rest of the country would do better to address the underlying issues that make breastfeeding so controversial.
Is breastmilk better than formula? Yes, hands down. But does it automatically make you a better mom if you breastfeed, and will your kids grow up to be fat, sickly dunderheads if you use formula? Of course not, on both counts.
I believe that babies should be breastfed if possible. I believe that every new mom who is physically capable should give it a try, AND be given not only the tools to be successful, but the freedom to stop if it doesn't work out or if she doesn't like it. I believe in the freedom to choose what is best for our babies, our bodies, our families.
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3 comments:
You are so right about breast feeding. Even my own husband needed a serious lecture about it. When we went to the fireworks for the 4th, he wanted to bring a bottle for my son because there wasn't "a place to nurse". Why did I need a place to nurse? As long as I was discreet, most people would be too busy to even notice and if they did, they would see a mom cradleing her child with a blanket over them both. Why is there a problem with that? He was still uncomfortable with it, but he got over it pretty quickly. One woman did realize I was feeding Nick and she said it brought back fond memories of when her children were young! I wish more people were reminiscent and less point and stare about it.
Personally, I think the NYC ban is a bit much. I understand encouraging it- but ultimately, it's a mother's personal decision. For me, I had wanted to nurse but I was nervous and had panic attacks about it. It just wasn't something that was done in my family, so I didn't have anyone to really talk to. Anyway, when I delivered, I had an encruiciating delivery. I'll spare the gorey details- but I ended up with a ton of stitches and being on Delodid (sp?) for a few weeks after. Because of the trauma and the medication they had to put me on for pain, my doctor actually recommended against nursing. She felt that it would put too much stress on my body and ability to heal and felt the narcotics were too strong to be passed to the baby- but I couldn't be on anything less. I felt very guilty and was uncomfortable being around my husband's family because they're extremely pro-nursing. I'd hate to think of another mother who had a similar trauma feeling like an entire city was against her. Just my 2 cents.
P.S. I found out that if you ask for formula at NYC hospitals, they will give it to you. The ban is just on sending it home in the bags of free stuff.
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