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.
Category Archives: For Health Professionals
The Language of Banning the Bags
By Melissa Bartick, MD, MS
Chair, Massachusetts Breastfeeding Coalition
February, 2007 — In Massachusetts, getting hospitals to stop marketing baby formula became a battle of words fought in the press and in the corridors of the State House. In February 2006, then-Governor Mitt Romney directed our state’s Public Health Council to rescind the country’s first state regulation to ban hospital distribution of formula company discharge bags. Romney, his spokesman, and other opponents of the ban argued that women should be “free to choose†how they feed their babies, and that women should not be “forced†to breastfeed. Continue reading
Physicians opt out of drug company-sponsored “Education”
Formula companies aren’t the only ones who co-opt health care providers to pitch expensive pharmaceutical products — read about how physicians are opting out of expensive meals from drug companies in the Washington Post.
Hold the Hors d’Oeuvres: Program Helps Doctors Stay Current Without Accepting Drugmakers’ Meals
Why Ban Hospital-Based Marketing of Infant Formula?
Marsha Walker, a long-time advocate for mothers and babies, sums up why your hospital shouldn’t be part of the formula marketing racket. This one-page summary was instrumental in moving formula marketing out of a Texas hospital. Take it to your adminstrators today! Continue reading
Commercial Discharge Bags, Healthcare Laws, Regulations, Guidelines, and Compliance
Increasing attention is being directed towards compliance requirements in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries. Some of these regulations have implications for those who purchase, recommend, receive, and/or distribute infant formula.
Continue reading
Order Ban the Bags Merchandise
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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.
Anticipating Formula Industry Strategies and Countering Them
Health professionals should prepare talking points for interview situations, contact with the press, or meeting with legislators or public health officials and avoid being drawn into debates that make them appear to be zealots. The following are common industry assertions and claims by opponents followed by useful responses. Continue reading
Ban the Bags Action Ideas
Moving marketing out of hospitals requires a multipronged approach, ranging from legislation to public awareness to hospital policy change. See how others are tackling this problem across the country. Continue reading
Massachusetts Report Card
As of May 2006, leaders at 11 of the 52 maternity hospitals in Massachusetts had put mothers and babies ahead of formula company profits. The state’s report card lists births, breastfeeding rates, and bag policies statewide. Continue reading
Broad Coalition Opposes Formula Marketing
Multiple groups, from the American Academy of Pediatrics to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, agree that formula marketing has no place in hospitals. Continue reading
Facts About Formula Marketing in Hospitals
80% of baby formula sold in the United States comes from major pharmaceutical companies. Continue reading
Free Commericial Formula Discharge Bags and Their Association With Decreased Breastfeeding
Many parents and care providers don’t perceive the effects of formula marketing strategies, and say that they are too smart to be manipulated. But multiple studies show an association between distribution of free commercial formula discharge bags and decreased breastfeeding. Continue reading
