Hospitals' freebies aim to meet the range of lifestyle choices for new moms

As seen in the Naperville Sun
Published January 27, 2009
By Katie Foutz Staff writer

Some new mothers can't breast-feed or choose not to.

Women who do breast-feed their babies often get sent home from the hospital with free samples of baby formula anyway, recent studies have found. But one local hospital gives breast-feeding mothers a choice.

Since Adventist Bolingbrook Hospital opened a year ago, the obstetrics unit has excluded baby formula samples from gift bags given to breast-feeding moms unless they sign a form specifically requesting the formula. The hospital also has started exclusively using organic, nontoxic personal care products in its mother-baby unit.

With the formula policy, the staff hopes that mothers will exclusively breast-feed longer.

Patient reaction

That makes sense to Sarah Kiser, 26, a Bolingbrook mom who gave birth Wednesday to her second son, Brandon. She had her first son, Daniel, now 3 1/2, at a different area hospital.

"They didn't hesitate to give me formula," she said from her hospital bed Friday.

She breast-fed Daniel for two months -- the length of her maternity leave -- plus her first week back at work as a senior account clerk at a Naperville credit union. With Brandon, she said she'd like to breast-feed for at least six months.

Her husband, Matt Kiser, 28, noticed a difference in attitudes at the hospitals.

"They gave you a lot more pointers this time," he said as he rocked Brandon, a tiny bundle dozing in pink and blue swaddling blankets.

Sarah nodded.

"The nurse was in here for probably half an hour trying to get him to latch on," she said.

Diane Leonard, obstetrics and pediatrics clinical manager, is proud of the hospital's formula policy.

"The formula reps would tell you the same thing -- it is nothing like breast milk," she said. "It's nutrients, vitamins, immunity, all that stuff that makes a healthier baby. ... I won't say the baby will never get sick, but when the baby is breast-fed, the baby tends to be a healthier baby as well. It's a benefit to Mom. And it's a bonding. It's a closeness."

Leonard added that they never let a baby go hungry. The hospital still gives formula to babies who need it, she said.

What the research shows

In promoting the policy, Bolingbrook Hospital cited a study published in September that showed 94 percent of hospitals in the eastern United States distributed formula sample packs to new mothers at hospital discharge. However, that percentage dropped between 1979 and 2006.

An earlier published study of women in Oregon found that among those who had initiated breast-feeding, 66.8 percent reported having received commercial hospital discharge packs. Women who received these packs were more likely to exclusively breast-feed for fewer than 10 weeks than were women who had not received the packs, the study authors wrote.

A formula company spokeswoman said that for every study that shows formula samples discourage breast-feeding, another study shows they have no impact.

"Prohibiting samples will not be an effective way to increase breast-feeding rates," said Gail Wood, spokeswoman for MeadJohnson Nutrition, makers of Enfamil infant formula. "What they need to focus on are the real barriers: social pressure, lack of workplace support, day care providers not accepting human milk. That's the low-hanging fruit."

Policies elsewhere

Other area hospitals promote breast-feeding while giving out formula.

Keith Hartenberger, spokesman for Edward Hospital in Naperville, said Edward gives formula sample packs to new moms at discharge.

"We strongly advocate breast-feeding and have a team of lactation consultants who work with new mothers," he said. "In addition, Edward has three lactation rooms available to employees who are breast-feeding."

At Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield, all mothers receive a gift bag intended to support healthy parenting and baby care, according to spokeswoman Amy Jo Steinbruecker. It contains literature and samples of common items newborns may need, including a small sample of formula.

"We recognize the benefits of breast-feeding and are supportive of a mother's decision to do so," she said. "Ultimately, the decision to breast or bottle feed is one that is made between the mother and her physician."

Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove gives out two types of gift bags -- one geared toward breast-feeding and one toward bottle-feeding mothers -- but both contain samples, nursing pads, bibs and coupons, said spokeswoman Jennifer Dooley. To assist new moms who choose to breast-feed, six lactation consultants staff the hospital around the clock.
Good Samaritan Hospital also is planning to open an outpatient lactation center by year's end, she said.