Recently, New York’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced an initiative called “Latch On NYC” to encourage mothers to breastfeed their newborns instead of using formula, ABC New reports. Under this plan, hospitals in New York will only give out formula for medical reasons or at a mother’s request starting this September. In addition to this the formula at hospitals will be kept locked up and patients will no longer receive free samples when they are discharged.
New York isn’t the first to begin this type of project; Rhode Island became the first state to participate by not giving free formula to mothers and instead educating them on the benefits of nursing.
Despite the many advantages of encouraging moms to breastfeed, many bloggers have made their skepticism of the decision known online. One mother, Katherine Stone, communicates that many of these mothers agree that breastfeeding is best; however, she brings up the fact that there are mothers who simply can not or have trouble breastfeeding their child.
“I hear from moms who have all sorts of problems related to breastfeeding, whether it is the inability to produce enough milk, or medical conditions they have, or their baby having problems breastfeeding,” Stone said. “There are a lot of things that lead a mother to not being able to breastfeed.”
Officials of the initiative say that they are not completely prohibiting the use of formula within hospitals, but are simply acting to reduce the number of mothers who commence to use formula after a child’s birth.
Read the complete article on ABC News’ website.
What are your thoughts on breastfeeding v. formula? Do you feel it should be regulated within hospitals? We like the fact that mothers are being encouraged to breastfeed but is it the government’s place to tell you to do so? Are hospitals doing enough on their own to promote breastfeeding?