When New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced the specifics of
a new initiative called Latch On NYC, it seemed at first glance like
anotheraggressive move by the health-focused mayor.
Bloomberg, who already made international headlines for banning the
sale of giant-sized soft drinks in the city, said that as of
September, the 11 city hospitals and 16 participating private
hospitals would restrict access to formula milk. For mothers who
choose to breastfeed, this means treating formula similarly to
medication, requiring that it be doled out onlyfor specific reasons,
andsigned out and noted on the baby's chart when administered. Mothers
who chose to formula feed can still doso.
Participating hospitals would also eliminate discharge bags, full of
formula samples and paid for by the formula companies. Recently,
Massachusetts and Rhode Island banned this practice as well.
The Latch On program isdesigned to promote breastfeeding. But some
mothers worry that it contributes to a culture that pressures and
shames women who want or need to use formula. It's part of an ongoing
battle over who really has women'sbest interests at heart.
Deborah Kaplan, assistant commissioner of New York City's bureau of
maternal, infant and reproductivehealth, says that setting up good
nursing habits in the hospital is crucial when breastfeeding, since
the first few days after birth help set the pace of milk production.
"In the body it's a supply and demand system. Nursing and pumping
stimulates to make more milk," she says, noting that 73% ofwomen in
New York City hospitals reported that their babies were fed with
formula during their stay. "If thebaby gets some their tummy is full,
they don'tnurse, mother's body doesn't make enough milk and it starts
a vicious cycle."
Breastfeeding benefits
Compared to formula-fed babies, babies who breastfeed:
*. Score 5.2 points higher on IQ tests (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition)
*. Are 40% less likely to develop diabetes before 40 in some
communities (The Lancet)
*. Have more immune-boosting flora intheir digestive systems (Genome Biology)
*. Are half as likely to suffer from asthma symptoms (European
Respiratory Journal)
Limiting access, she says, will help prevent this from happening.
Diane Spatz, a professorperinatal nursing at theUniversity of
Pennsylvania school of nursing, says the free formula bags also send
the wrong message.
"If you're giving them the company bag, you're endorsing that you
think those companies are a good thing," she says. "At three in the
morning when mom is alone andexhausted and doesn't have anyone around
to help her, she will open it up and say 'well, the hospital gave it
to me'."
But Jessica Valenti, author of the upcomingbook Why Have Kids, worries
that these initiatives will only further stigmatise mothers who can't
- or don't wish - to nurse.
"I don't care about the gift bags," she says."But if you're talking
about keeping formula under lock and key, treating it as a medicine,
making women explain why they want formula and giving them a lecture
is so condescending.
"It comes from an assumption that women who don't wantto breastfeed
don't know better."
For their part, the formula companies say that women deserve to be
presented with all their options. In a statement provided to the BBC,
Mardi Mountford, executive vice president of the International Formula
Council, said:
"Restricting access to samples and information from formula
manufacturers is not the answer to increasing breastfeeding rates. A
way to help mothers is to be supportive of the feeding choice they
make for their infants regardless if they choose breastfeeding,
formula feeding or a combination of both."
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