My experience has been that both mothers and doctors think supplementing 
with formula is ok and that the new lipilized formulas are as good as 
breastmilk. I work with a lot of premature babies and they all get formula 
in the hospital or HMF. I have many many clients who are told by the 
hospital staff that they can not breastfeed their premature baby because she 
needs formula (for various reasons, none of which really hold water).

And as the push towards formula has increased in the last few years, I am 
seeing a decrease in moms with premature babies that are started pumping 
soon after birth, with too many not instructed properly in how to correctly 
use a pump, or how often each day, or even how to store their milk! Moms are 
also not told where the pump room is in the NICU. (We do have a few 
excellant hospitals in our area that send premie babies home breastfeeding.)

I also find that moms will often go to whatever is easiest for them, which 
means having someone else give a bottle. I battle the supplementation issue 
constantly. Seems like almost every problem/situation I deal with is caused 
by early supplementation.

I work for WIC and the two IBCLCs are pushing the Peer Counselors and other 
staff to talk to moms about the hazards of early supplementation. The 
hospitals here push formula like crazy but I rarely hear moms complaining 
about that. This is exactly where the formula companies want us to be.

The other thing we see at WIC is most moms are doing both, breast and 
bottle. Hardly anyone wants to solely breastfeed. We get lots of moms 
"nursing" and then giving 2-4 ounces of formula in a bottle afterwards.

I feel like we are going backwards.

Kathy Eng, BSW, IBCLC -- Houston, TX USA 

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