If "breast is best," why do so many pediatricians and hospital staffers push supplementing with formula?

Answer 1

I think it's more convenience. I think formulas have been well accepted by hospitals and doctors as a great source of newborn nutrition. It's the "easy button". With formula they know exactly how much the baby has gotten...and if there is a problem then they can just switch formulas until they find the right formula.

Answer 2

I think some hospital staff are confused. My doctor and some of my nurses were heavily pushing breastfeeding with no formula while some of the other nurses were saying "here, give her this formula, it'll help" It felt very forced on me. I was so confused by the conflicting advice. Of course, some of my nurses had never been involved in the delivery of such a small baby - five pounds shouldn't be that small! I think nurses need more training and that breastfeeding information needs to be more readily available to pregnant women. I know that all the doctors and nurses have formula samples from the formula companies even if they don't push formula. I have 3 Similac bags from the hospital! I think it's a combination of pressure from formula companies and lack of up-to-date training that makes some doctors or nurses push supplementing. Sometimes it's necessary to supplement but I don't think you can tell if it is or not in the first day.

Side note:
I'm a little jealous of f s (above me) My hospital didn't even have a lactation specialist on staff and the nurses hardly help me latch my girl and they didn't notice that I wasn't breastfeeding often enough because I didn't know any better and my girl wouldn't wake up on her own. One nurse wrote on my chart that I was a breastfeeding champ and all the other nurses believed it and never checked again even though I was there for 3 days! Sorry about the rant, but it makes me so mad.

Answer 3

I was lucky i guess. i told them no formula-no pacifier and as far as i know they adhered to it. I also stayed only one night and had the baby sleep in with me. on the down side...there was no lactation help there. She was off that day. So the nurses had to assist me and some of them didnt know what they were doing. But I still intend on going back to the hospital so i can personally thank the nurse who MADE me wake the baby every 3 hours to eat. Infact, I hated feeding the baby because latching on was so difficult and feeding made cramping occur which for me were just as bad as the contraction.

So i cant say that the peds and staffers are pushing formula

Answer 4

ignorance sometimes. Allot of doctors and nurses were trained along time ago. Just because someone is a doctor or nurse doesnt always mean they know best (and im a RN). Also in the states I think doctors get kick backs from formula companys. Sometimes moms arent taught how to properly breast feed and they actually do need to supplement. I had tons of problems at first so we were told to supplent but we didnt use a bottle to give formula we used an sns system or finger fed her so that she wouldnt get confused and she could help stimulate my milk.

Answer 5

I agree with the others-Unfortunately some Docs and Hospitals are being funded by some Baby Formula companies. But most hospitals these days are offering you a choice. You do not have to supplement with formula if you are producing enough milk for your baby. Stay in touch with a support group and continue the good work you are doing for your baby.

Answer 6

I don't feel that my hospital pushed formula feeding on me, but I am glad that it was available because my son had jaundice and needed all he could eat. My milk never came in, so it was nice to be taught what to do with the formula... when to throw it away, when to burp my son, etc...

In a society where we are being told that "breast is best" I am still glad that we have conscientious health care providers who acknowledge that some of us HAVE to bottle feed and who didn't make me feel like a horrible person because my son wasn't being breast fed. Honestly, people can be very mean.

Answer 7

It really pisses me off. My son was given formula after birth with out my knowledge or consent. It made for a rocky start to our nursing relationship. I knew I would have to suppliment due to a breast deformity, but I was going to use an SNS nurser (the coolest thing ever for mommy's with low milk supply) I will be insisting that my next baby will have no formula in the hospital.

Answer 8

Because:

-they get kickbacks from formula companies
-they are more familiar with formula
-quite often they aren't terribly well educated about breastfeeding in the first place
-it's a carryover from the era when formula was considered superior to breastmilk (ha, what a joke)

Answer 9

We didn't have formula "pushed" on us at all. In fact my OB was very adamant that I breastfeed (and even though I told her I was intending to, she still mentioned it every time she saw me lol) After my son was born we requested that he stay in my recovery room at all times (and asked that they note "no formula/sugar water" in his chart) The hospital actually sent a lactation nurse in to talk with me/lend assistance right after delivery.

I never felt like I was being bullied into formula...in fact, I don't think a single staff member EVER mentioned it once!

Answer 10

Part of it is carryover from a previous culture, part is lack of training and part of it is staff who find breastfeeding disgusting. Very few medical personal actually have any training in either nutrition or breastfeeding.

Now, that said, there are reasons to use supplement, but you can feed using an infant cup if nipple confusion is a problem. Breastfeeding activists will disagree, but clearly, stuff like jaundice clears up much faster with formula than it does with breastfeeding simply due to volume of food. If it means that the baby is out of the hospital that much earlier, I think it's better given the risk of hospital acquired infections.