banthebags.org

Portland, Oregon – To kick off Oregon’s Breastfeeding Promotion Month, Dr. Susan Allan, Public Health Director for Oregon Department of Human Services, presented “Maternity Care Best Practices” awards to 15 area hospitals which have eliminated formula sample packs from the discharge bags customarily given to mothers as they head home with their new babies. Portland is the first city in the nation to have both public and private hospitals ban the formula sample packs since the launch of the national “Ban the Bag” campaign one year ago. Read more »

NPR reported on New York City’s new policy in a conversation with Kim Gande, president of NOW, and Faye Wattleton, president of the Center for the Advancemet of Women, and followed up with a round table discussion with the Mocha Moms. Gande and Wattleton emphasized broader cultural obstacles to breastfeeding, and dismissed Bloomberg’s bag policy as a “band-aid” rather than a solution. Like many commentators, they were unaware of data from dozens of randomized controlled trials showing that commercial discharge packs undermine breastfeeding.

New York City’s hospitals launched a new breastfeeding promotion and support program this week, featuring non-commercial discharge bags with a coolor for pumped milk and an “I eat at Moms” onesie.

The launch has generated extensive press coverage, including reports from The New York Times web site, The New York Post, CBS TV, ABC News, The Wall Street Journal, The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet, and others.

Many of the reports inaccurately imply that hospitals are banning formula. The actual policy, detailed in a New York City press release, makes formula available to bottle-feeding moms on request. The Today Show’s report was particularly egregious, misleading millions of viewers by stating that formula would no longer be available in City hospitals.