Feeding Newborns

After reading numerous blogs and comments that came up after the decision by NYC Public Hospitals to pull formula samples, I cannot believe how off-topic most of the blogs and comments are, with everyone explaining their situations. Here is where I stand (in case you care).

1. The decision was made by a public assistance corporation that runs 11 hospitals and other community centers, NOT by all NY City or State hospitals.

2. The move is about MONEY, not to personally demonize the women using formula. That is what a lot of the breastfeeding advisors and advocates do. (Disclosure: my advisor at NYU did NOT make me feel guilty for not getting the hang of breastfeeding).

3. The decision does two things: takes away free samples from people on public assistance (ridiculous) and it will reduce the amount of private "unrestricted educational grant" money that the formula companies send to hospitals furthering the betterment of a hospital that could use the funds for enriching staff or updating infrastructure. (I can write another whole post on that).

4. People have posted that the formula companies are evil. I have not read the arguments for or against this. I do wish that formula companies would start to use dehydrated cow's milk from cows free from growth hormones and antibiotics to make formula. I feel that this would make a big difference. Similac just released an"Organic" formula that does this. I know that Good Start makes a "Natural Cultures" formula to help with digestion, but does not use organic milk. I do not use either at the moment, but will try the Similac Organic. Using organic milk to make infant formula should be standard and affordable. I wonder if there will be a clinical trial on precocious pubarche and organic formula. There should be! Sorry to go on a tangent here, but I will post this again.

EDIT: In researching organic formula further, there are other formula manufacturers than Similac, Enfamil, and GoodStart. The issue now is cost. And would the hospitals pull organic formula samples???

5. The main reason for pulling the samples is purely economic in nature-not for the formula companies but for public assistance. As public hospitals are located in poorer sections of the city and their patients usually rely on Medicaid and WIC for themselves and their children, the government doesn't want to pay for formula if it doesn't have to.

I take any samples and formula coupons for the ones I don't use and donate them to a women's home.

What is next, pulling the disposable diaper samples? That is another debate...