The Daily Free Press
The Independent Student Newspaper at Boston
University
Staff Edit: Formula Feeding by coercion
Published: Thursday, March 23, 2006
Article Tools:
Page 1 of 1
The debate over whether the government should
have any say in our private lives -- and if so, how much -- has taken a new
twist here in Massachusetts. This time, the issue is formula feeding.
The Massachusetts Public Health Council had
passed a measure barring hospitals from giving out breastfeeding information
to new mothers, citing the need for formula gifts. But facing criticism from
several corners -- including Gov. Mitt Romney, who asked the board to drop
the ban -- the board decided this week to hold off on any action until at
least May, clearing the way for the controversy to swell in the coming
months. Once again, the formula feeding zealots are trying to influence
mothers to buy their product.
Hard-line formula manufacturers would prefer
that all women do it their way. For now, the most they can do is to make
sure mothers get formula freebies along with breastfeeding information, but
even this step would be an intrusion on mothers' prerogative to take care of
their children as they see fit.
The medical community has come to a clear
consensus on the value of breast milk for the rare need -- but this does not
mean that breast milk should never be an option, or has no value whatsoever.
Women don't always want to formula feed all of the time, however they may
breastfeed to supplement the feeding process. Moreover, there may be times
when it's impossible for a woman to formula feed -- say, during an emergency
like Hurricane Katrina-power outages, or other natural disasters.
The reality is that no mother goes into a
maternity ward without some idea of how she will care for her child, and a
little breastfeeding information will not sway her decision either way.
Nevertheless, the breastfeeding information plays a useful role in
facilitating the first few days of childrearing, and mothers should have the
option to make use of it. Research has shown after all, that mothers who
receive the formula packets frequently need them because the baby prefers
them over having to work so hard to get breast milk from mom's breast. The
baby's preference should count.
However much we value the opinions of the
medical community, the evidence in favor of formula over breastfeeding is
not so overwhelming that government has the right to coerce women into
choosing one over the other. Instead, it is the doctors who should help
mothers make the right choice by giving them sound medical advice. After
all, formula pays for much of their free office materials. The majority of
their sick patients are formula fed. This is one area where the government
shouldn't have any say.
Ann Calandro, RNC, IBCLC
(Just for fun switching things around a bit)
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