This is a brief summary of the work the Massachusetts Breastfeeding  
Coalition has been doing to keep the formula bag ban in place. We managed to get  a 3 
month extension to further work on the issue.
 
As you are all aware, the Public health Council was asked by the Executive  
Office of Health and Human Services and the Executive Office on Administration  
and Finances to remove the piece in the perinatal regulations  regarding 
distribution of formula gift bags. On Friday Feb 17 we found out  that there would 
be a meeting Tuesday Feb 21 regarding disposition of  the regs. We thought 
that it was a done deal, that the language was going to  revert back to the old 
regs, and that our new language would be removed. So,  over the weekend we put 
together a cover letter and abstracts of research  articles and overnight 
mailed this packet to members on the Public Health  Council. They received a 
special delivery packet Monday with our position  and request to keep the new 
language. We sent out a press release and contacted  as many of our media contacts 
that we could. We asked for mothers and  babies to come to the meeting too. 
MANY email letters went to the governor  and Finance Office over the weekend.
 
We made press packets for today with a new press release and a number of  
supporting documents to give to the media that would be there. The Public Health  
Council met today to a packed house. When it came to our issue, there was no  
discussion allowed from the floor. Finally one member of the Council said 
that  she thought the gift bags were detrimental to breastfeeding and that 
hospitals  should not be the conduit for marketing formula at the expense of  
breastfeeding. The other female Council member agreed and asked that the issue  be 
further studied by the Public Health Council over the next 3 months. So all  of 
the new regs have been approved (including all of the new regs regarding  
breastfeeding) and the gift bag issue is still alive. Over the next 3  months the 
issue will be looked at more closely and we hope to be able to  participate 
at some point in the process.
 
The press was there, both TV and newspapers as well as the State House  press 
corps. Each reporter received a press kit from MBC and as soon as the part  
of the meeting was over regarding the formula bag issues, the press, TV, and 
MBC  moved out into the hallway for an hour of press interviews. What was really 
 fantastic is that we had 3 mothers there, one who had driven in today from  
Poughkipsee, New York! The press made a beeline to them after the meeting for  
interviews! 
 
So, lots of hard work paid off. We are still not through with the formula  
bag issue. I want to thank everyone who wrote and worked hard on making this  
happen. While we are not out of the woods yet, there is still hope!
 
Marsha Walker, RN, IBCLC
Weston, MA


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