by PAM BELLUCK
“Dr. Nicole Leopardi, with her children at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, N.J. which recently banned formula samples., said receiving a sample influenced her.” PHOTO/Jessica Kourkounis/The New York Times
For years, virtually every new mother has been sent home from the hospital with a gift bag full of free product samples, including infant formula.
Now health authorities and breast-feeding advocates are leading a nationwide effort to ban formula samples, which often come in stylish bags with formula company logos. Health experts say they can sway women away from breast-feeding.
As of 2011, nearly half of about 2,600 hospitals in a survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had stopped giving formula samples to breast-feeding mothers, up from a quarter in 2007. The survey did not ask about distributing samples to non-nursing mothers.
Recently, 24 hospitals in Oklahoma agreed to a ban, and Massachusetts became the second state, after Rhode Island, in which all hospitals halted free samples. In New York City, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg started the “Latch On NYC” campaign, urging hospitals to stop giveaways and monitor formula like other medical supplies, stored in locked cabinets and accounted for when mothers have medical needs or request it; 28 of 40 hospitals have agreed.
The debate over formula samples isn’t about whether breast-feeding is healthier. Even formula companies acknowledge that “breast milk is the gold standard; it’s the best for babies,” said Christopher Perille, a spokesman for Mead Johnson, which makes Enfamil formula.
Breast-feeding decreases babies’ risk of ear infections, diarrhea, asthma and other diseases, and may reduce risk of obesity and slightly improve I.Q., experts say. The question is whether samples tempt mothers who could breast-feed exclusively for the recommended six months to use formula when they’re exhausted or discouraged if nursing proves difficult. The C.D.C., the World Health Organization and breast-feeding advocates say samples turn hospitals into formula sales agents and imply that hospitals think formula is as healthy as breast-feeding. Health experts warn that even small amounts of formula dilute breast-feeding’s benefits by altering intestinal micro-organisms and decreasing breast milk supply, since women produce less when babies nurse less. They say that while some women face serious breast-feeding challenges, more could nurse longer with greater support, and that formula samples can weaken that support system.
The New York Times for more
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