I think this initiative is wonderful! I myself nursed my girls exclusively and found it to be the best choice for me. I do sympathize with other mothers who either cannot or choose not to breastfeed, and feel that the formula should continue to be made available, upon request. The information about the benefits for breastfeeding is not as prominent as advertising for formula. I realize that it's easier to formula feed, but maybe with more support new mother's will try to breastfeed.

And it is Free!

It's more child dependent than mother dependent. We have four children two of which took to nursing without issue and two that would have nothing to do with it regardless of the effort put forth. At least that's what my wife told me........

Wow. Talk about limiting a woman's right to choice. I find this horribly offensive. Offering up support to a mom no matter which way she decides to feed and nurture her infant and I'm all about it ... but to take one of the choices away and FORCE somebody to breastfeed in lieu of their baby starving?? This is just horrible.

I'm with you Gail. When I first heard this, I thought it had to be a joke. This is one of the most assinine things I have ever heard. I am more than offended - I am ANGRY that a mayor, or a state thinks they can impose this sort of restriction on a mother. While we all have heard that mother's milk is supposed to be superior to formula, millions of babies have turned out quite well after drinking formula in their early years. But this is one of those situational arguments where one side will never concede to the other, and the controversy will rage on forever. Let the mother decide!!!!!!!!

Leigh, the link sounds pretty reasonable - but this part of the article, based on the press release, I suppose - is not supportive of mothers on both sides of this:
Hospitals joining Latch On NYC have agreed to (my comments with the ~):
Enforce the New York State hospital regulation to not supplement breastfeeding infants with formula unless medically indicated and documented on the infant’s medical chart. ~ "unless medically indicated and documented"?? Sort of leaving out the mom and dad's input there it would seem.

Limit access to infant formula by hospital staff. ~ Why? Seriously ... I know of NO ONE who was ever FORCED to bottle feed by a well-meaning nurse. However, I do know of several instances where mothers' decisions were questioned over and over and over by well meaning nurses, lactation specialists, doctors ...
Discontinue the distribution of promotional or free infant formula.
~ Again ... WHY? It's a good start for those moms who want to bottle feed their infants. You don't HAVE to use it ... throw it away. Donate to a shelter for the homeless.
Prohibit the display and distribution of infant formula advertising or promotional materials in any hospital location. ~ May as well prohibit the display of throw-away diapers (GOOD moms will ALWAYS use cloth), Diaper rash ointment (GOOD moms won't let their babies have diaper rash), Condoms (GOOD moms won't get pregnant until they can 100% afford a baby)
The link seems like damage control. Let mom decide.

I think the decision is up to an "informed" mom and the needs of each infant. No mom should be made to believe that she is making a "wrong" choice if she chooses formula. As a new mom, I loved digging through those new mom gift bags, even though I chose a different formula (at pediatricians suggestion) than the free sample I received. No woman should be brainwashed or shamed into such an important decision. The mayor needs to but out! Well, that's one woman's opinion!

It's important to remember that this is less about feeding choices (mothers who still need formula receive it at any hospital, even those participating in Ban the Bags) and more about ethical marketing practices with formula companies and hospitals. For more information, I offer this article (disclosure: I wrote it!) - http://babygooroo.com/2011/11/formula-marketing/ - and also this one: http://babygooroo.com/2012/08/latch-on-nyc%E2%80%94what%E2%80%99s-all-the-fuss/

Like Leigh, I had a vulnerable moment with both of my kids where breastfeeding wasn't easy and I just wanted someone to tell me that I should give them formula instead. When you're hormonal and tired and your baby isn't feeding, you need a supportive lactation expert, not a nurse dangling formula under your nose. I think that Latch On NYC is a HUGE step in the right direction. It's there if a mom needs it but not hanging out in the room waiting to be used. Most moms that I know that choose to bottle feed feel some guilt that they aren't breastfeeding and I believe that's why people are panicking about this program. We need more support and less marketing in the maternity ward!

The medical practice described in this article represents the definition of minding other people's business, and that makes me angry. I'm not even a "hey government, you get out of my life now" type, either, but dang. The immediate post-partum period is already so difficult and emotional even without people actively judging you!

You want to breastfeed? That's great. It didn't work for me and my son. I had (and have) too many other unusual challenges with that kid to worry about that. But he would have been pretty hungry if we had had no choice or if I had kept forcing it.

I'm just glad that I have never been one of those people who other people walk up to and give unsolicited parenting advice to, which is probably because I look really mean, and I feel sorry for moms that it does happen to. I hate seeing anyone being bullied even (and maybe especially) "for their own good."

I really don't want Mayor Bloomberg, the New York City Health Department, or any other government entity in any way dictating, controlling or manipulating the choices that I make for my baby. I breastfed both of my children, but I've also seen a lot of bullying behavior by entities who seem bent on telling people their choices are wrong, or that they are somehow less of a mother if they do things one way instead of another.

I'm all for offering as much support as we can to breastfeeding mothers. I'm not on board with the nanny state approach, however.

R...your comment literally made me laugh out loud!

The government has always told people what to do. How fast to drive, for example, is a good rule, one that teenage boys in some families would like to ignore, and do. That benefits health by keeping people alive. Seatbelts and children's car seats are other government interference, and even motorcycle helmets in some states. The government says what type of medications are safe. Before the FDA, people were taking cocaine for headaches. The government folks tell you that meat and eggs are fit to eat, that bridges are safe to drive over, that water is safe to drink. The government scientists tells us that asbestos isn't safe to breath, that benzine isn't safe to drink or inhale. The world is so complicated and fraught with difficulties, I welcome experts who can keep me and my family safe and informed. I'm sure I could make all these decisions myself, but I have better things to do and fewer resources for evaluating them. Oh, and I like the government putting warnings on cigarette packages as well.

Back to the point of taking away the support given to women who choose not to or can't b/f...I am incensed by this initiative in NY. I had one child who would not latch and one that did. The support for both was key to doing what I needed to do for each child to thrive. Just because the cans of formula were given at the hospital that did not determine how I fed my babies. Choice should not be taken away. Glad I will not be birthing in NY ever!

Isn't that the same mayor who wants to limit the size of soft drinks? He is quite the little policeman, isn't he?

;)

I was never able to get a breast pump to work with either child - hospital grade, manual, etc. - so breastfeeding was not convenient. I have a friend who was committed to breastfeeding, but her baby would not latch on for days and she finally had to use the formula. She felt immense relief she finally gave in to the formula. No one is saying that formula shouldn't be available to parents that want it. I mean, I know several Dads that were single parents with new babies, and those babies survived because of formula. I was very against using formula, but with my second child, the truth is, I could not fill him up. I nursed that kid on both sides until I experienced unpleasant symptoms and he still cried a "hungry cry." After nursing him, with milk flowing, and still he was hungry, I gave him formula. He sucked it down like he had a bottomless stomach. He still eats like that and he is 9 years old! Formula satiated my baby's hunger, and he was never overweight, just very active and strong! All that being said, I firmly support Mayor Bloomberg's initiative. From the first visits to the OBGYN and both hospital experiences with my kids' births, the marketing for the formula was relentless. It offended me, bothered me, and hurt me. I know of several Mothers who have had nurses give their babies sugar water in bottles in the hospital. This is outrageous. My friend whose baby would not latch on was one of them. I support formula ONLY upon request!!!

I reread my post and I want it to be clear that I did breastfeed both of my kids, but I supplemented with formula with my youngest.

Here we go again having politicians decide what is best for lifes and lifestyle. Freedom of choice seems to be more American then these sort of Breastfed Vigilantes. I'm very happy this was your preference but it may not be all so now let's control the hospitals in what they are allowed to provide. How bout just good ol information without your opinion attached to it? What happen to the 1st Amendment rights and Constitution we fought so hard to establish?

Oh please. The doctors and hospitals get bought by the corporate sponsors! No one is threatening the presence of formula in hospitals. But finally, someone is saying, "It is not acceptable to give babies and Mothers formula without it being specifically requested." It should have been this way all along. When I was born at Norcross Hospital in 1975, the doctor told my Mother that formula was better for babies' health. My Mother had to fight to breastfeed. Women are still getting kicked out of museums and told in malls to "cover up." We live in a society that thinks it is just fine for corporate Victoria's Secret to advertise women in lace bras and underwear but not for women to nurse their own babies out in public society. Formula is an option, and it should be ONLY THAT. No one should be putting bottles in babies' mouths, with sugar water or formula, before they have had an opportunity to latch on. Samples of formula should be available upon request, or through grocery stores. Health care providers have long been a marketing vessel for corporate formula companies, and Mayor Bloomberg is taking a progressive stance against this. If you think I'm paranoid, google Nestle's formula influence on the women and babies of third world countries.

Lots of online blogs about choices today.....It's not a choice when a hospital nurse considers it protocol to put a rubber nipple with sugar water in it into a newborn baby's mouth without it's parents' consent? Wth?

@Marne M: That is the most inane post I have ever read. If you don't have a car and are expecting a newborn, don't you think you would have stocked up on formula if it were your "choice" to provide it to your infant? Last time I checked, a screaming newborn at 2 am is what you sign up for when you decide to become a parent. If you want formula to be an option, you'll have to get yourself to the grocery store and buy it, in preparation for the baby's birth. If not, REQUEST IT IN THE HOSPITAL!!

I've seen a whole lot of everything in my lifetime as well. My undergraduate degree is actually in Social Work, so we're not barking too far apart. WIC gives people of lower socioeconomic status coupons for free formula, and food stamps will cover what WIC doesn't. I know how the system works. I also know that those same women who don't have the financial resources and don't have positive women in their lives encouraging them to breastfeed are the MOST VULNERABLE population for sticking a formula bottle in their babies' mouths without even thinking about it - AND WHY WOULD THEY? The doctors must endorse formula - formula ads have been part of every doctor visit since their positive pregnancy test. The baby calendar and all the freebies they were given to "make their journey easier" had formula logos splashed all over them. In fact, before they even made it to the hospital, their doctor had probably already given them free formula samples. FORMULA AND MEDICAL CARE SHOULD BE SEPARATE. FORMULA SHOULD BE AVAILABLE AT FOOD STORES. PERIOD. What a sense of entitlement I have? How about the sense of entitlement those babies have - that I would EVEN SUGGEST that their parents be prepared to feed them? That babies deserved to be born into a society that says, with its actions and words, that breastfeeding is best for baby's health?

One more thought about my "sense of entitlement" over women of lower socio-economic status. If you did a quantitative study on the effects of formula on women who don't have financial power - I bet you would find that there are DEEP PROBLEMS caused by the introduction of formula to women of LSES. See, what the doctors, hospitals, and formula companies don't tell those disempowered women, is that their babies are a lot more likely to experience digestive problems or lactose intolerance when they are fed formula. So, if their baby has to go through a bunch of different formulas to try to find the one that their little systems can tolerate, it's going to cost a lot more money than the parents might have thought. In addition, their babies might end up needing a much more expensive formula because of digestive issues, and WIC may or may not cover the costs of all the formula that is needed for that baby. In fact, I watched a baby whose parents would ONLY buy the amount of formula that the WIC coupons covered, and that baby had terrible acid reflux, and I had to buy extra formula just so that baby could be fed enough. The research done on the effects of formula on poor families in third world countries is testimony to the fact that marketing formula to women who would have otherwise breastfed is damaging to babies. Like the drug dealers - of course the first hit is free.

I regret posting that your comment was inane, Marne M. Your comment was an empathetic consideration for lower income parents who are committed to breastfeeding and end up needing formula. I get that. I still think it's like C-sections in this country - it's an industry. What began as a helpful product or service became an out of control, for profit industry.

I'm 20-weeks pregnant, so I tend to go straight to defensive these days. I think that breast feeding education programs ARE vital. I just resent anyone, be it the government or corporations, restricting choices that may be vital for some. I don't otherwise disagree with most of what you are saying. I breastfed both my kids, but having that sample of formula saved my life in the two days before my milk came in with my second child (who was over ten pounds) and collostrum would not do. I hadn't needed it with the first, and it didn't occur to me I would with the second.

Honestly, as much as I believe in my opinion, I thought about your scenario again, and like you, there was no reason I would have bought formula to prepare for the birth of my second child. I didn't want it. It was nice to have the formula right there when I finally said, "I want to supplement." I agree with you also about people trying to force their opinions on others. Once someone has decided on formula, I don't want to demean that viable decision. Plenty of healthy children raised on formula only. I just want breastfeeding to be less of a crime and more of a collective, "This is what we do, and then there's a plan B." Instead, there's not enough info. for women who don't know what they might be getting into with formula or what they might miss if they don't breastfeed. I wish there were more community forums that involved women in their own communities - forums for women as a group, not just one to one. Even though we might not always agree, we always share information and benefit from hearing the thoughts and experiences of others.

Wow! Very glad I had my children in the 90's when it was apparently o.k. to be personally responsible for making a decision that was right for me and my family! And thank goodness, at this time, there isn't some government entity checking my pantry for preservatives in my food and non-organic salad greens in my refrigerator. Hopefully, there will be no food police that shows up and monitors the meals that I feed my family, because, doggone it, some times I just don't get to the full balance according to the food pyramid!

Again, it's not like these women are feeding their children crack. Well balanced formula is not BAD for a child. Is mother's milk better? Sure, in general. Some folks mileage may vary on that, but overall, no doubt. Does it work for everybody? Not hardly.

And I'll leave you guys with this personal experience - My mom was 15 years old when her mother died in childbirth, leaving behind a 1 year old that was still nursing. Cow's milk just didn't work for him, and neither did the goat's milk that some of the well meaning aunts brought to try. He died of starvation shortly behind my grandmother. Some 20 years later, when my sister is born, there is an option of soy based formula for her and that quite literally saves her life.

I'd fight for any new mother's right to breastfeed; I'd also fight for her right to feed her child from a bottle and I'd even hold the bottle if she needed.