Do you think that hospitals should provide formula milk?

[kate.m.]

My hospital provided it.

Ive heard of instances where BF mummies are given free meals & FF mummies have to pay for theirs (tho i think this is if ur child is readmitted, not at birth.) in essence the hospital are paying for the breastmilk via mum's food. So i feel that if the hospital are paying to provide the breast milk, then they should also pay to provide the formula!!

 

[Janidog]

My hospital provided it.

Ive heard of instances where BF mummies are given free meals & FF mummies have to pay for theirs (tho i think this is if ur child is readmitted, not at birth.) in essence the hospital are paying for the breastmilk via mum's food. So i feel that if the hospital are paying to provide the breast milk, then they should also pay to provide the formula!!

Completely agree although they did provide tea and coffee for us

 

[Lellow]

I don't think it's an advertising ploy? midwifes werent even allowed to ''suggest'' a brand of formula to us!

So isn't a company supplying a hospital with there formula free of charge all in the name of free advertising?

It certainly isn't out of the goodness of there hearts!

 

[Tasha]

I haven't read all the posts but I'm interested to know if hospitals who provide or don't provide formula in postnatal wards provide it for free as 'meals' for baby patients when readmitted on childrens wards etc.

By this point 'choosing' to ff rather than the holy Grail of bf (which I do before I get flamed - I just don't think you can be discriminated on that basis of choice) is no longer a choice - it's fully established and not providing formula is like denying food to adults yet also is contradictory to the argument of cost etc.

Yes they do provide milk then, same as they supply on NICU, SCBU etc. I think (and this is not my opinion so please dont jump on me anyone), if they baby is on any of those wards it is seen as trying to get the baby better so as vital as a good healthy diet for older inpatients, whereas after birth although baby's are seen as patients, there is nothing they need to get better from (although I realise it is still vital baby's need food). Not sure if that makes sense? It seems to be what degree is a baby seen as a patient after birth, I mean they are documented as patients but

 

[kawaiigirl]

Of course the hospital should provide it. They provide food for the mother so why not the baby? My hospital provided it. I work in the NHS so am aware how tight budgets are. It's is every mothers right to chose how to feed their baby and so they should have support from the hospital whether bf or ff. By not providing it, they send the message that it is wrong to FF! X

 

[Tasha]

I don't think it's an advertising ploy? midwifes werent even allowed to ''suggest'' a brand of formula to us!

So isn't a company supplying a hospital with there formula free of charge all in the name of free advertising?

It certainly isn't out of the goodness of there hearts!

But are they providing it free? I have seen it written a lot here but is it really a fact or are people assuming?

Kate.m if the child is being readmitted then it is likely they are being provided forula, so therefore supplying Mu's food is just the same as that. The thing is when my LO was 6 weeks old and in hospital, I didnt want to leave him and barely ate for the two weeks he was in, so if a BF did that, there supply would dwindle and that would have a negative effect on baby and their recovery.

 

[kate.m.]

I don't think it's an advertising ploy? midwifes werent even allowed to ''suggest'' a brand of formula to us!

So isn't a company supplying a hospital with there formula free of charge all in the name of free advertising?

It certainly isn't out of the goodness of there hearts!

I dont really think its advertising. My hospital had all 3 brands & when i was asked how i was planning on feeding my baby & i replied "formula", they simply said "which brand would you like?" & then brought me that one. So regardless of whether or not they paid for it, it wasnt exactly forced upon me! Dunno if other hospitals do it diff, but it wasnt advertising where i was!

I think in the majority of cases, ppl have already made up their mind on how theyre going to feed their baby when they go into hosp. Those who want to FF probably already know which brand they want to choose. Those who want to & can breastfeed do just that. Those who struggled to breastfeed have the formula to fall back on if necc. I dont see anything wrong with providing formula.

 

[Mumof42009]

It's a tough one but the way the country is they need to cut back somewhere. The only problem is you cannot buy the ready made formula bottles in every brand so means mums would have to stick to brands already avaliable unless you wanted to take in big tub of formula and bottles, sterliser etc. Not all hospitals have stopped it only some.

 

[bubbles]

This argument that keeps cropping up of "they provide meals for us, why not babies" is silly. There is a huge difference between an adult, who is ill and probably in there unexpectedly and a newborn. The biggest difference being food IS supplied free for babies. It's called BREAST MILK!! if you choose not to use what nature has provided for FREE thats your bad not the NHS'

Again I have highlighted the word choose as this is about making a conscious decision on how to feed your baby NOT because baby is ill/unable to feed or you are physically unable to breastfeed

 

[Lightworker]

I don't think it's an advertising ploy? midwifes werent even allowed to ''suggest'' a brand of formula to us!

So isn't a company supplying a hospital with there formula free of charge all in the name of free advertising?

It certainly isn't out of the goodness of there hearts!

Yep it most definitely is advertising given that they are not allowed to advertise stage 1 milk via mass media.

 

[ttc_lolly]

Our hospital told us they didn't (I think they just said that though ) and we took ours in with us incase BF'ing didn't go well. Thank goodness we did! I wasn't bothered as I know how expensive formula is and wasn't expecting to be supplied with it x

 

[kawaiigirl]

I haven't read all the posts but I'm interested to know if hospitals who provide or don't provide formula in postnatal wards provide it for free as 'meals' for baby patients when readmitted on childrens wards etc.

By this point 'choosing' to ff rather than the holy Grail of bf (which I do before I get flamed - I just don't think you can be discriminated on that basis of choice) is no longer a choice - it's fully established and not providing formula is like denying food to adults yet also is contradictory to the argument of cost etc.

Yes, my son was provided with formula when he was readmitted for an illness. X

 

[NG09]

Totally agree with Wobbles earlier post

Can't actually believe this is still going.. had a quick read through and it would appear I fall into the category of 'couldn't be bothered' to BF so my son shouldn't have qualified for free milk during his 20 hour stay I do fall into the category of 'could be bothered' to go through 7 months of reflux, lactose intolerance, colic 5 formula changes and 3 bottle changes to make my son happy but hey....... my son is happy and thriving so I guess I can live with being judged!

 

[kate.m.]

I don't think it's an advertising ploy? midwifes werent even allowed to ''suggest'' a brand of formula to us!

So isn't a company supplying a hospital with there formula free of charge all in the name of free advertising?

It certainly isn't out of the goodness of there hearts!

But are they providing it free? I have seen it written a lot here but is it really a fact or are people assuming?

Kate.m if the child is being readmitted then it is likely they are being provided forula, so therefore supplying Mu's food is just the same as that. The thing is when my LO was 6 weeks old and in hospital, I didnt want to leave him and barely ate for the two weeks he was in, so if a BF did that, there supply would dwindle and that would have a negative effect on baby and their recovery.

yeah, thats exactly what i meant! They should either provide both types of milk or neither! & it would appear they provide both!

 

[ShanandBoc]

This argument that keeps cropping up of "they provide meals for us, why not babies" is silly. There is a huge difference between an adult, who is ill and probably in there unexpectedly and a newborn. The biggest difference being food IS supplied free for babies. It's called BREAST MILK!! if you choose not to use what nature has provided for FREE thats your bad not the NHS'

Again I have highlighted the word choose as this is about making a conscious decision on how to feed your baby NOT because baby is ill/unable to feed or you are physically unable to breastfeed

How is it silly? Its EXACTLY the same thing!! You have your own food at home, you could bring your own food / drink so it would be FREE in the sense that NHS wouldnt foot the bill, but you dont. Its part of the service when you are admitted to hospital. Your age shouldnt even come into the equation

I think we are all quite aware that nature provides breast milk free of charge btw

 

[sapphire1]

I don't really know what our hospital did, as I didn't stay in after Holly's birth and tried to BF. There's a 6 hour discharge policy and you stay in the delivery room, so I don't know if mums have to provide formula initially. We did get readmitted for weight loss though as I was BFing and she wouldn't latch. They provided formula free, and I'm assuming this would be the same for everyone (she had topups and expressed bm). I do think it should be provided free, as others have said babies need to have food just as adults do. I guess some places don't provide it to try and promote breasfeeding too, but I don't see how that would sway someone's choice...

 

[Foogirl]

I think the NHS has quite enough to pay for. Plus if they did provide it there would then be the question of which one they use and they risk being seen to promote one brand over another. I can see the formula companies making a big deal about that.

Saying that babies are patients isn't accurate. Where a newborn baby is admitted as a patient e.g in NNICU, formula is provided. Or if a formula is medically required for allergies or intolerances, they do provide food.

 

[ShanandBoc]

I think the NHS has quite enough to pay for. Plus if they did provide it there would then be the question of which one they use and they risk being seen to promote one brand over another. I can see the formula companies making a big deal about that.

Well , no. Not here anyway. They arent allowed to say what brand it is or even suggest a brand for you to use.

 

[Janidog]

I can't believe some mums are so bitter and begrudging babies (you know those tiny babies that we all carried in our wombs for 9months and gave birth to) a few bottles of free formula!!!!! There are more things going wrong in this bloody world then giving babies free bloody formula!

 

[bubbles]

This argument that keeps cropping up of "they provide meals for us, why not babies" is silly. There is a huge difference between an adult, who is ill and probably in there unexpectedly and a newborn. The biggest difference being food IS supplied free for babies. It's called BREAST MILK!! if you choose not to use what nature has provided for FREE thats your bad not the NHS'

Again I have highlighted the word choose as this is about making a conscious decision on how to feed your baby NOT because baby is ill/unable to feed or you are physically unable to breastfeed

How is it silly? Its EXACTLY the same thing!! You have your own food at home, you could bring your own food / drink so it would be FREE in the sense that NHS wouldnt foot the bill, but you dont. Its part of the service when you are admitted to hospital. Your age shouldnt even come into the equation

I think we are all quite aware that nature provides breast milk free of charge btw

Most of the people I know actually do provide their own food, more because the food on the NHS is awful but still. And no it's not exactly the same is it, an adult in there ILL and often UNEXPECTED is different to a perfectly healthy baby who is only there because of the process of birth