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Does free formula make you not want to breastfeed?

Posted Sep 26, 2011 by Courtney Cairns Pastor

Updated Sep 26, 2011 at 04:13 PM

My relationship with breastfeeding was a lot more complicated than a few free samples of formula.

I’ve written about it before but the summary is: best of intentions, lots of problems, stopped early, lingering guilt, awesome kid. But the goody bag I got in the hospital of a couple free servings of formula, coupons and a free vinyl diaper bag had nothing to do with my decision-making.

Nevertheless, there’s a movement afoot (was tempted to say abreast but opted to spare you the bad pun) to get rid of those free samples. The concern is that they set you up for failure by giving you a way out before you’ve really given breastfeeding a chance.

It’s “like giving somebody divorce papers at their wedding,” a mom says in the Associated Press article.

For me, formula was more safety net than easy out. I put the samples in the pantry, and there they stayed until one day, months later, when I actually did need it. And when I needed them, I was grateful to just open the pantry door and not have to run out to the store on some sort of emergency formula hunt while my baby screamed because he was hungry.

It wasn’t his first taste of formula, either – shh! My son had some as a newborn in the hospital, when I was having trouble feeding him. That probably puts my hospital among the 95 percent of U.S. hospitals that are “baby-unfriendly,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, because they don’t “fully support breastfeeding.”

On the other hand, this same hospital had provided me with a breastfeeding class and lactation consultants during and after my stay. That sounds baby-friendly (and mother-friendly) to me. Does the formula they offered, which I accepted, cancel that out?

It doesn’t in my eyes. I knew what I was doing and made my choices based on my research, classes and finally what was best for me and my son. That’s a lot to think about when you’re post-partum, and I can see how some mothers might think the hospital is endorsing formula-feeding by doling out the free samples.

It’s confusing and overwhelming to have a newborn, and if breastfeeding turns out to be hard, maybe the samples encourage new mothers to stop earlier than they would otherwise – or not try at all. But why women breastfeed (or don’t breastfeed) is way more complex than a sample pack. That decision can hinge on family pressures, physical problems, whether you return to work and more.

All I wanted was for my son to eat. I preferred he have breast milk, but if we needed to supplement at first until we figured out how this whole thing worked, then OK. I didn’t need anyone telling me in the meantime that formula was evil and I just needed to try harder.

Let’s offer new moms all the support in the world for breastfeeding, but let’s do it without demonizing other choices. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing.