I'm not a breastfeeding mom and (at this point) will not likely ever be. I could not breast feed either of my children so I've had the experience of trying, but not an extended period.
But I'm a full supporter. So this doesn't make sense.
A breastfeeding resource kit that includes...baby formula, from the makers and sellers of...baby formula.
As one commenter put it, would you take seriously a "stop smoking" kit from the people you buy cigarettes from?
jaykaydee
I coudn't disagree more. And the facts aren't correct. NYC hospitals have PULLED formula from the "new mommy" gift bags, essentially acting like you're a criminal if you formula feed. As with my first child, I've been able to exclusively breast feed for 4 months, than need to supplement with formula (I work, and pump as much as I can, but I can't do it enough). But it's ridiculous to shun the formula feeders. It's a personal choice and women have a right to choose. There's more discussion here:
http://www.unboundedition.com/content/view/1801/50/
Moonshadow
I've got a checkered past with breastfeeding - my third was the only one who never touched a bottle.
It's stuff like this that makes nursing moms so militant, out of pure necessity.
My experience with professionals is that nursing is tolerated so long as the baby is well on the growth chart, as my Ella isn't. My enlightened impression of late is that professionals pay lip service to breastfeeding because of its hallowed status among mothers. Privately, these professionals recognize formula as just as good, even preferable for the control it affords.
Pragmatism opens the door for the purveyors of baby formula who receive a warm welcome from maternity ward staff. Everybody's happy, why rock the boat with your principles?!
Angela
Well, hmmm, sort an oxymoron if you ask me! I breastfed both my kids until they were 13 months. A lot of my friends breastfed as well. But, I don't think that formula feeding is wrong. It is personal choice. I am aware that nursing has many advantages to both mom and baby. But I also know that some moms just can't breastfeed (for physical reasons) or they need to work. I babysit a baby boy and he is bottle fed. He seems happy and healthy. I am happy that I was able to breast feed both my babies, but I also don't think the gov't should make that decision for mothers!
that's my two cents!
Angela 🙂
Ellen
I don't have a problem with women choosing either way...
my thing is that a company that produces and sells formula has one objective - to sell formula.
don't give formula away and call it "breastfeeding support" 😉
Ruth
I agree that professionals'ready acceptance of, if not preference for, formula is a control thing. However, somewhat in their defense, our society has made the pediatrician responsible for the health and growth of the child. If you make me responsible for something, I want as much control as I can get. I think the same can be said for the obnoxious c-section rate--labor is unpredictable and at times uncontrollable. The OB is responsible (at least in a financial sense) for delivering an "undamaged" baby; hence the desire for the control a c-section gives. I think it is also a problem professionals have with NFP--with NFP the power to control lies with the couple, and experience has shown that couples' choices don't always mirror their stated family planning objectives, whereas with contraception, most who chose it choose to use it regularly.
Moonshadow
"control" - I mean that the doctor can get reliable answers to questions like, "How much is your baby taking in daily?" The breastfeeding mom has a harder time answering than the bottlefeeding mom.
I read this ad. again and it's formula ... FOR MOM! She drinks their stuff and nurses her baby. That's the breastfeeding support.
Soylent green ... some day we'll all be drinking through a straw.
Ellen
It's both - there's a Lipil brand DHA supplement for mom, and a Lipil formula for baby (advertises as the formula most like breast milk)