Bloomberg banning bottle feeding?

[rainbabies]

WTF?!! I bottle fed formula and pumped a little bit. I'm done having babies. And I'm so glad because this here, is bull. Nanny State bull.
I honestly don't care how someone feeds their baby, just feed your baby! Ug!!! (here, in our local hospital..there's a new designation, where there's no nursery. And the babies have to room in with mom. (its going nation wide)Again, so glad I'm done having babies. Such crap. A laboring mom needs rest after delivering. She needs that option. Just like she needs the option to feed formula)

NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and state officials are pushing initiatives aimed at encouraging new mothers to breastfeed their babies, drawing criticism from some parents who say officials are interfering with their health choices.

State health commissioners announced on Tuesday that letters highlighting the importance of breastfeeding were being sent to hospitals, reminding them of regulations limiting unnecessary formula feedings for breastfed newborns.

The state initiative coincides with Bloomberg's call for hospitals to lock away their baby formula and have nurses encourage new mothers to breastfeed.


Under the mayor's plan, slated to start September 3, the city will keep a record of the number of bottles that hospitals stock and use. Formula would be signed out like medication.

The pro-breastfeeding campaign has drawn the ire of some women who argue it stigmatizes infant formula and interferes with a mother's choice of what to feed her child.

A number of the city's other health initiatives — including cracking down on large-sized sodas and banning smoking in public places — have attracted similar criticism from those who accuse the mayor of creating a "nanny" state.

"I breastfed both of my kids and it took me a good three weeks before I figured it out," said Rene Syler, who wrote about the issue on her website Goodenoughmother.com. "I can't imagine what it must be like to be in the hospital with someone sort of standing over your shoulder and lecturing you every time you ask for a bottle to feed your crying baby."

Under current regulations, hospitals are only allowed to provide formula to infants who have an indicated medical reason and a doctor's order for the supplemental feedings, the state health department said in a statement.

Still, only 39.7 percent of newborn infants in New York are exclusively breastfed — well below the federal government goal of 70 percent, the state health department said. Roughly half of breastfed infants received supplemental formula in the hospital.

"We recognize that there are women that won't be able to breastfeed or chose to not breastfeed for a variety of reasons and that is a choice they should be able to make," said Dr. Barbara Wallace, the state health department's director of chronic disease prevention.

The state health department said the benefits of breastfeeding included fewer episodes of acute respiratory illnesses, inner-ear infections and gastroenteritis.

Mothers who do not breastfeed are at increased risk for postpartum bleeding and anemia, and have higher rates of breast cancer later in life, the health department statement said.

[L.Jane]

Are you fucking kidding me? Where in the hell do they think they have the right to control how I feed my future children. Sure, if I wasn't feeding them at all, thats abuse, but feeding by bottle or breast, again thats my choice. Milk doesn't always come in right away, sometimes it just doesn't work. At least the baby is being fed. These stupid controlling idiots.

[GrayMatterWife]

Apparently, it's not a War on Women when you take away women's choices, provided that the State disapproves of you choice.

Yay! Another man who is going to tell us how we should be women and what to do with our bodies. Abortion? You have wide latitude to terminate or keep, because the State approves of abortion as a choice for managing a pregnancy. But breastfeeding/bottlefeeding? You need State direction. Bizarre--the State has no problem allowing you discretion in determining whether you end the pregnancy (kinda a huge decision), but it doesn't trust you to know how to feed the baby (by comparison, kinda a pretty minor decision). Apparently, you lose IQ points after you've decided whether to terminate or keep the pregnancy, and you clearly need the State's infantilizing intervention.

F**k off, Bloomberg. Leave us alone. We are capable to managing our bodies and our babies without your sanctimony.

[SuzySunshine]

I've decided Bloomberg thinks he's God and he thinks he can do whatever the hell he wants - REALLY? This only stirs the pot of breastfeeding versus non-breastfeeding. My kids were breastfeed or given pumped breastmilk for way less then the recommended year due to my health and you know what? They are two of the healthiest kids I've ever met.

Government needs to STEP AWAY from issues like this, give me a frickin break!

[Phoebe]

Aren't there more pressing issues for the gov't to address? Leave women alone. That's insane.

[TulipsAndSunscreen]

I completely agree with you that the government has way more pressing concerns.

That being said, he's not banning bottle feeding as the subject of this post suggests. He's making formula be dispensed like every other product in the hospital...on a tracked and monitored basis. I don't think that's a terrible thing. What's terrible is condemning whatever choice the mother makes but in practice, I highly doubt the nurses are going to act that way. I was shocked in fact that when I asked for nipple cream in the hospital, I was offered formula when my baby was two days old. Um, I said my nipple hurts, not "I don't want to breastfeed". I do think that a more conscious choice should be made to discuss the pros and cons of BFing/FFing with moms and then support either choice.

[GrayMatterWife]

I do think that a more conscious choice should be made to discuss the pros and cons of BFing/FFing with moms and then support either choice.

That's fine, but there's no reason that Bloomberg should be involved with that conversation. It is between your health care provider and you. Not the State.

[SoonerTexan]

That being said, he's not banning bottle feeding as the subject of this post suggests. He's making formula be dispensed like every other product in the hospital...on a tracked and monitored basis. I don't think that's a terrible thing. What's terrible is condemning whatever choice the mother makes but in practice, I highly doubt the nurses are going to act that way. I was shocked in fact that when I asked for nipple cream in the hospital, I was offered formula when my baby was two days old. Um, I said my nipple hurts, not "I don't want to breastfeed". I do think that a more conscious choice should be made to discuss the pros and cons of BFing/FFing with moms and then support either choice.

Well said. I see both sides. You'd be surprised how many new mothers (and nurses!) aren't aware that breast milk takes a few days to come in and colostrum is enough for a newborn in the first few days. It's pretty easy to derail breastfeeding for a new mom, even if she is very committed.

I did A LOT of research on hospitals before I chose a provider and hospital in which to have N. No mandatory nursery time was high on my list--you'd be surprised how few hospitals in the DFW area offer this. There are only a small handful. And at a few it's a well known fact that you better specify that you don't want your breastfed baby to have formula, but even if you do, the nurses might give it anyway.

Even at the very pro-breastfeeding/natural birth hospital I delivered at (the crunchiest in the Dallas area), I was threatened with formula within an hour after birth. Because N had a "high birth weight"-9 lb 2 oz, she was required to have blood glucose checks within the first hour of birth and before each feeding for three instances--if she "failed" she got formula. That was a lot of pressure pretty quickly. Even my "let them do whatever" husband said next time we will probably decline because it got ridiculous.

A friend of mine who has a baby 6 weeks older than N had an awful experience at a local hospital. They took her son down to do newborn checks at midnight and close to 3 hours later she finally called to see what the hell was going on. I don't remember the details, but apparently he took a few long breaths between screams and that worried the nurse and got the ball rolling on a bunch of other tests. She wasn't mad about that but PISSED that they didn't think to notify her and EXTRA PISSED that they gave him formula without asking because he got hungry. They also had to stay at the hospital an extra 4ish days because of this incident and were told if they left it would be AMA and their insurance might not cover anything. They are a young couple like us, so paying for bills out of pocket wasn't an option and they were forced to stay against their will. In the end, they were told their son "just had a temper" and not to worry about the incident.

So yeah, I don't see formula being regulated as the worst "nanny state" thing going on in maternity wards today.

[TulipsAndSunscreen]

That's fine, but there's no reason that Bloomberg should be involved with that conversation. It is between your health care provider and you. Not the State.

That, I can agree to.

What I don't like is hospitals giving lip service to supporting breast feeding and then immediately offering formula at every instance even when it is not asked for. I feel like that decision should be discussed with the mother and a pediatrician before any decision is made because as ST correctly points out, most babies do not need an immediate feeding and colostrum (or even nothing) is adequate for a few hours/days while the options are clearly communicated in a non-judgmental way.

[Thirteen]

Another man, telling women what to do with their breasts and reproductive organs. I'm over it. What.ever.
"No uterus? No opinion."


It makes me very frustrated that things like this are still happening.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[TulipsAndSunscreen]

Another man, telling women what to do with their breasts and reproductive organs. I'm over it. What.ever.
"No uterus? No opinion."


It makes me very frustrated that things like this are still happening.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

So, rhetorically, would you be ok with this if it were a female mayor who had carried a child? Would her BFing status (even if 20 years prior) have mattered to you?

Again, I think we have much bigger fish to fry in this country but I do always wonder when men are not allowed to voice parenting opinions. My DH definitely has an opinion on whether I BFed - now if I couldn't/didn't want to do it, he has no right to make me but he is very supportive and he does have an opinion. A man can't BF but they can still have an opinion on what happens to their child and do everything he can to support his partner in BFing.

[Pollyanna]

Ugh, Bloomberg is such a flipping moron. I think his goal is to try and make himself relevant rather than improve NYC. Ban soft drinks over 16oz and vilify formula, great work Mayor :eyeroll:

Having to dispense formula like it's a drug is stupid and I promise you that hospitals that dispense over a certain amount will have to pay a fine or see less reimbursements. Families do not need the government telling them how to feed their babies. And I completely agree with Syl that forced "rooming in" is a bad idea. I was blessed that I always had dh stay with me but if he didn't I would've had to send the baby to the nursery because I wouldn't feel well enough to get out of bed and pick up baby with out fear of passing out. Mamas do need their rest and there is absolutely nothing wrong with sending baby to the nursery.

Even at the very pro-breastfeeding/natural birth hospital I delivered at (the crunchiest in the Dallas area), I was threatened with formula within an hour after birth. Because N had a "high birth weight"-9 lb 2 oz, she was required to have blood glucose checks within the first hour of birth and before each feeding for three instances--if she "failed" she got formula. That was a lot of pressure pretty quickly. Even my "let them do whatever" husband said next time we will probably decline because it got ridiculous.

While you may have felt pressured you must realize that the nurses were being hypervigilant because they were trying to prevent a hypoglycemic seizure in your baby. I promise that they were not interested in pressuring you to give your child formula and interfere with breastfeeding.

Like Cheri said, this type of thing just stirs the pot and makes woman who cannot breastfeed feel like they are bad mothers or less of a person. THAT is the very worst thing that you can do to a child, make it's mother feel like crap. This is a decision to be made by parents in consultation with their physician, no other parties are necessary.

In my n=6 the child that was nursed the least (3 months) is my very healthiest child, with no allergies, a very strong immune system, and smart as a whip.

[alison]

We have a plastic bag ban in our city, and a charge of 5 cents if you buy a paper bag at the store. Also, no styrafoam allowed here either. It makes you think of all the unecessary waste.

I see the point of the pop ban. If you want the government to take care of you, then first take care of yourself!

And... As far as I can see, you can bring your own formula to the hospital if you want and it's not medically indicated.

Off to go hide in my cave....

[TulipsAndSunscreen]

This is a decision to be made by parents in consultation with their physician, no other parties are necessary.

But isn't this the point? That right now, it's not being made in consultation with a physician. It's just being handed out or in my case, offered when not requested and no doctor got involved at all. I don't think it would be terrible to have every mom have a lactation/pediatrician consult prior to making their decision one way or another. A non-judgmental physician opinion would be really healthy. FWIW, my pediatrician told me, "BFing is great but I myself had to supplement and you need to just do the best you can and not feel badly either way." I thought that was great, sound advice and I was happy to hear it even though we did end up not having to supplement. Right now though, it just seems like no one advises anyone, they just give you formula.

ETA: I know formula isn't "medicine" per se but hospitals should have to report giving it. Legally, they're providing it just like any other substance and they are therefore responsible. In some rare cases, babies can have allergies to formula and I do think it should be recorded when it's given out.

[bobk]

Thank you T&S, I agree that's not helpful to characterize this as a men vs women issue. I'd be willing to bet that most of people advising the mayor on this were women.

I think that the breast feeding culture (or lack thereof) in hospitals could be improved, but having the city micromanage formula is not going to be helpful.