banthebags.org

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released results from a national survey of US maternity centers showing that 70 percent of birth facilities continue to market formula to new mothers, undermining health recommendations. In an editorial note accompanying the study, published in the journal “Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report,” the authors comment:

Facilities should consider discontinuing these practices to provide more positive influences on breastfeeding initiation and duration.

For more information on mPINC, read the press release from the Massachusetts Breastfeeding Coalition.

A recent article in The New York Times reported on rising US breastfeeding rates. In the article, Bobby Philipp, a pediatrician at Boston University, pointed to formula bags as a key obstacle to breastfeeding success. Noting that most hospitals still market formula to new mothers, she said:

That’s a problem because at least five studies have shown that when a doctor or nurse hands the family that bag, even if they take the formula out, that mother will have less success with breast-feeding

Read the article

The March/April issue of Mothering Magazine features the Ban the Bags campaign. Part of the magazine’s “Speak truth to power” issue, Marsha Walker’s account of the struggle to move formula marketing out of hospitals is available online to digital subscribers, and on news stands everywhere.

Mothers who take home a formula company gift bag are more likely to stop exclusively breastfeeding their babies by 10 weeks of age, according to a new study in the American Journal of Public Health by the Oregon Department of Public Health. Oregon has taken the lead in banning hospital marketing of branded formula, according to a report on the study in The Oregonian.

The Center for Media and Democracy awarded the Bronze Medal “Falsie” award to the IFC for egregious distortion of information on the health risks of formula feeding. The Falsies honor the year’s most “cynical, manipulative and just plain anti-democratic pollution of our information environment.”

The Center writes:

For portraying accurate health information as alarmism and intrusive marketing campaigns as “freedom” — not to mention helping to keep U.S. breastfeeding rates well below those of European countries — this Falsie’s for you, IFC!

Read the full story here

In the September issue of Mothering Magazine, editor Peggy O’Mara details infant formula industry efforts to undermine breastfeeding:

In addition to the inaccurate information on breastfeeding provided by the mainstream media, the unethical marketing practices of the formula companies continue to undermine breastfeeding. Author Margaret Kenda recently told me about several “stealth” breastfeeding websites that appear to be grassroots advocacy sites, but are actually mouthpieces for the formula industry.

Read the full story

Show your support for Ban the Bags with mugs, badges, t-shirts, and even a Ban the Bags Bag. Visit our online store. Proceeds support the Ban the Bags campaign.

Welcome to BanTheBags.org, home of the national campaign to stop hospital-based marketing of infant formula to new mothers.

By Alison Stuebe, MD

What’s in a bag?

For years, hospitals have distributed “gift” bags to new mothers, courtesy of the drug companies that sell baby formula. Over the years, bag styles have changed, from pastel bunnies to sleek briefcase black. What hasn’t changed is the strategy: big formula companies are using hospitals to promote their product to new mothers. Read more »