Hello,
This is a project I participate in with my local breastfeeding task force. As a personal rant, I feel so angry that the mothers in my community go home from their first prenatal OB appointment (at about eight weeks into their pregnancy) with a prenatal coupon bag. It is a formula company sponsored bag which has a ton of formula coupons and a "your pregnancy week-by-week" magazine that is plastered full of formula advertisements mixed in with the pictures of the developing baby. It is very slick advertising and is widely distributed here in my community. It actually comes with a sample of powdered formula, but the OB offices usually take it out of the bags before giving it out to all of their new patients.
Since we can't (as a task force) stop the distribution of those bags, we do the next best thing, and put together prenatal breastfeeding friendly bags for OB offices to give to their patients along with the 'other' bags. We have about 1,300 births per year in my county, so that is the number of prenatal bags we try and assemble and distribute per year.
We have a $500 per year grant from our state Healthy Mother Healthy Baby organization, and also to keep costs of the bags down, different groups on the task force donate breastfeeding friendly items to put into the bags (which are stuffed monthly in my basement).
WIC donates breastfeeding friendly bookmarks with WIC breastfeeding telephone numbers on the bookmarks. Another member of the task force has a button/magnet making machine, and puts together cute breastfeeding buttons/magnets to put into the bags. She usually donates these (they cost around $0.10 each). The hospital donates the actual bags themselves, and uses some hospital/grant money to buy a bulk order of about 2,000 bags at a time. The local La Leche League Group donates a meeting brochure and post cards advertising the local Breastfeeding Cafe and monthly prenatal breastfeeding class.
The $500 grant money is spent on including a back order copy of La Leche League's NEW BEGINNINGS for every bag (costs $0.25 per copy), a pamphlet/brochure from Noodle Soup, and copies of about five various La Leche League tear off sheets (per bag), usually covering topics like "returning to work", "the importance of breastfeeding" and "how to make sure your baby is getting enough".
We also include free things and coupons from breastfeeding friendly companies. There are several new nursing bra companies who are happy to include a small catalog or postcard with a 10% off coupon code. The prenatal bags are "free advertising" for them. It usually just takes a little research on the Internet and a friendly email asking for coupons or sample products and these breastfeeding friendly companies are happy to put 500- 1000 freebies in the mail to include in the prenatal bags. (I get samples from these type of companies mailed to me all of the time...it must make my post-man crazy!)
It is important to me to make sure that each prenatal bag includes only breastfeeding friendly items so that mothers who receive "coupon" bags from us see that breastfeeding can also be a cultural norm.
I hope this gives you some ideas.
Take Care,
Michelle Swanson, LLLL
Wyoming, USA
:-)
--- [log in to unmask] wrote:
From: mavis gewant <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: breastfeeding bags
Date: Wed, 2 Apr 2008 16:21:35 -0700
a local mothers group at one of the local hospitals is
putting together a breastfeeding bag for International
Breastfeeding Week.
they say that they would like to do this all year
round, but they would have to buy the bags. any
suggestions for a way to get bags cheaply or for free
and things they could put in the bags?
thanks,
mavis
Mavis Gewant
Sacred Artist & Doula
www.sacredmotherarts.com
www.gentlecaredoulaservice.com
____________________________________________________________________________________
You rock. That's why Blockbuster's offering you one month of Blockbuster Total Access, No Cost.
http://tc.deals.yahoo.com/tc/blockbuster/text5.com
***********************************************
Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]
Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask]
COMMANDS:
1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail
2. To start it again: set lactnet mail
3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome
***********************************************
Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]
Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask]
COMMANDS:
1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail
2. To start it again: set lactnet mail
3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome
|
