When your baby is born, you may receive a diaper bag in the hospital. These are sponsored by large formula companies. In many hospitals, there are two bags. One is for formula feeding mothers and the other is for mothers who are breastfeeding. These are often called “breastfeeding support” bags.
You may be surprised to find formula in your breastfeeding support bag. I know I was. The bag I got when my son was born a few weeks ago contained a bunch of pre filled bottles of formula. With the first two children, there was no formula in the bags, only coupons. With the third baby there was a can of powdered formula.
Breastfeeding activists are lobbying against these bags. What we need to realize is the formula companies aren’t giving you this nice diaper bag because they love you and your baby. They are marketing a product. They are trying to sell formula and these promotional bags are a great tool for that purpose.
Advocates for breastfeeding see these bags as sabotage to the new mother. The message that formula feeding is easier can be very strong to the tired new mother. What she needs is support, not free formula. At the very least, they should not be allowed to call them breastfeeding support bags.
When my first two babies were born, the bags were more breastfeeding friendly. They didn’t contain formula, but they did contain advertisements and coupons for formula. I threw these away. The bag did have some good things, such as sample packs of breast pads and little bottles for freezing breast milk.
When my third baby was born, I took the formula home. I donated it to my church’s food pantry program. Since I wasn’t going to use it, I decided to share with a mother who may need it. At the time, I didn’t think much about it or really see it as sabotage. But I’ve never been on the fence about breastfeeding anyway.
The more I have read about this issue, the more I have realized how insidious this marketing is to the new mother. Many women have little or no support for breastfeeding. They are bombarded with advertisements about formula containing many ingredients found in breast milk. To the tired new mom, it can seem like an easier alternative. This is not in the best interests of the mother or her baby.
Also in my bag this time was a booklet on breastfeeding. This made me angrier than the sample formula bottles. After I got home from the hospital, I looked through the bag and found this guide. As I was nursing my son, I decided to look through it. I was shocked at what I found.
The booklet is 39 pages long. Fifteen of these pages are dedicated exclusively to formula feeding or are ads for formula. I pointed this out to my husband. He knows how I feel about breastfeeding and suggested I write about it. As I read through the rest of the guide, I found many references to formula on the remaining pages. In all, more than half this “breastfeeding information guide” is dedicated to formula. How is this supporting the new mother in breastfeeding?
This time, I spoke up at the hospital. When the nurse brought in the bag, I looked through it. I took out the bottles and told her I didn’t want them. I suggested that she give them to a formula feeding mother in the hospital. She asked if I was sure I didn’t want to take them home, “just in case.” I thanked her but said I definitely would not be using them.
When the nurse brings in your bag, take a good look inside. Be aware that the purpose of this bag is to market a product. If you’ve made the decision to breastfeed your baby, look for support elsewhere. The formula companies aren’t really interested in supporting your efforts. They are interested in selling expensive formula and in finding new customers. Get rid of the formula, but feel free to keep the bag. I kept mine. I can always use another diaper bag.