When it comes to breast feeding, don't let the current hospital movement influence your choice!
I know I've written about this before in a previous post ... about
how difficult it was when I decided not to breastfeed my fourth baby
(and I don't mean the decision itself was difficult -- it was that the
health care providers around me were unbelievably difficult). Well, I'm
just glad that I'm not giving birth today because of the self-righteous
stance that a slew of hospitals and providers around the country are
taking.
What's happening is this: there's a movement involving hospitals
in New York, California, Colorado, Massachusetts and Texas to stop
giving out free formula samples to new moms. The thinking behind this
movement is that because the American Academy of Pediatrics has
determined that breastfeeding is best, then new moms should not be
exposed to a 6-pack of free formula bottles because, heaven forbid,
they will most assuredly become instantly swayed to give up
breastfeeding. I mean, who are we as women to actually make the choice
on how best to feed our babies?
And so what about the women who end up having to have an unplanned
(or planned) C-section which can delay milk production by several days?
Or the women who have babies that suffer from severe allergies? Or the
women (like me) who choose to take an anti-depressant, that happens to
be very dangerous to an infant, in order to be able to function as a
mother? I'm sure there are plenty of new moms who are suddenly
confronted with a change in plan and have to use formula for one reason
or another, and are unprepared ... it is essential for them to have
easy and free access to formula.
Whoever had the idea that mothers need to be denied something in
order for them to make the "right" choice (according to the mandate of
an organization) is absolutely crazy. And, not to mention, obviously a
man. This isn't an Orwellian world we live in -- at least not yet.
Let's protect our right to choose how we feed our babies.