Thread: The Nanny State

While I agree with your overall opinion that persons should be free to make up their own minds, there are some things to consider about the baby formula issue. Breast milk is usually the best food for infants. Once on formula feeding, mothers will no longer be able to nurse their infants and formula feeding must be continued for the first year. Pediatricians instruct mothers to avoid feeding infants less than a year old with bottled milk, but formula is very expensive and beyond the means of low income mothers. The US WIC program provides many low income mothers with vouchers for a limited amount (what should be needed for 1 month) of formula at no cost to them, but they often run out of formula after the middle of each month and would need to pay for any additional formula on their own. The theft of baby formula from my local supermarkets' shelves has reached a level where supermarkets and pharmacies no longer put it out on their store shelves. One has to go to the customer services area or cashier supervisor and ask for formula. I cannot think of any reason why anyone would want formula, other than to feed an infant. I once worked with a Brazilian pediatrician who was training in pulmonary medicine. He said that he could no longer be a pediatrician because he could not continue to work with Brazilian mothers who were coming to him with sick infants asking for medical help but their infant's problem was malnutrition and he had no food to give them.

Originally Posted by 1OldGI

I'm OK with educational initiatives if the target audience is allowed to make their own decision in the matter. That is clearly not what's happening here, hospitals are being instructed to not provide formula to any babies unless there's a valid medical reason that the woman cannot breastfeed. Abortion came up just because I find a ridiculous irony that the extremist pro-choicers like Bloomberg and his ilk are all about a woman's choice to manage her own reproductive system but insist on owning and managing the baby feeders.

Originally Posted by Crotalus

I got a different story on Fox. They said the formula was to be locked up like prescription medicine and would not be provided until the woman got a breast feeding lecture.

And just why should she be subjected to any lecture? Don't you think she's been through enough stress?

Originally Posted by mapleleafalumnus

And just why should she be subjected to any lecture? Don't you think she's been through enough stress?

I'm pretty sure that it's in the job description for nurses and doctors to provide their patients with the best information to make a decision. I'm more upset at the audacity of dentists lecturing their patients on brushing and flossing. Imagine the stress of being a cancer patient and then having to hear a lecture about chemotherapy and other treatment options!

Originally Posted by commiecat

I'm pretty sure that it's in the job description for nurses and doctors to provide their patients with the best information to make a decision. I'm more upset at the audacity of dentists lecturing their patients on brushing and flossing. Imagine the stress of being a cancer patient and then having to hear a lecture about chemotherapy and other treatment options!

Hnh! Sorry, I fell asleep...
I just love us men here on SRP having the audacity telling women what to do with their bodies. That's real chutzpah!
Let's move this over to the Ladies forum and see how well it goes over.

Originally Posted by Hirlau

I wish I had a nanny;
a British Nanny, a German Nanny, a young Russian Nanny, a Columbian Nanny...
Heck,, there have been days that I would have settled for a nanny from New Guinea.

Hire Mommar Ghadafi's ex bodygaurds I hear they are looking for work and willing to be re trained.

Originally Posted by mapleleafalumnus

Hnh! Sorry, I fell asleep...
I just love us men here on SRP having the audacity telling women what to do with their bodies. That's real chutzpah!
Let's move this over to the Ladies forum and see how well it goes over.

I think you still might be asleep.

The hospitals explain the best health option which is supported by overwhelming amounts of worldwide data. In the event of mother not wanting to breastfeed for personal or medical reasons, they are still allowed to use the formula. But hey, I guess that dentists who suggest daily flossing are giving "lectures" to their patients and when we tell a Mach 3 user that wet shaving provides better results then we are guilty of "telling people what to do with their bodies."

Originally Posted by commiecat

I think you still might be asleep.

The hospitals explain the best health option which is supported by overwhelming amounts of worldwide data. In the event of mother not wanting to breastfeed for personal or medical reasons, they are still allowed to use the formula. But hey, I guess that dentists who suggest daily flossing are giving "lectures" to their patients and when we tell a Mach 3 user that wet shaving provides better results then we are guilty of "telling people what to do with their bodies."

YAWN...zzzzz

What is the need for a hospital to do this in the first place? If your family doctor is any good he will have gone over this point and a few others with the new mother to be already. That is all part of good prenatal care and is as always up to the mother to follow or ignore medical advice.

Bob

Originally Posted by BobH

What is the need for a hospital to do this in the first place? If your family doctor is any good he will have gone over this point and a few others with the new mother to be already. That is all part of good prenatal care and is as always up to the mother to follow or ignore medical advice.

Bob

The formula companies provide their products free to the hospital. Those get passed out and then mothers tend to remain on it. Hospitals that choose to follow this initiative will no longer accept that free formula and their staff will educate new mothers on the benefits of breastfeeding and encourage them to do so, provided there aren't any medical reasons against. I'm not sure what demographics these hospitals all have and how many of their patients already have family doctors.

Gillette sends out their razors for free to men near their 18th birthday. If I hadn't received that free Gillette Sensor and instead learned about the cost and benefit of wet shaving vs. cartridges before starting, I'd like to think I would have made the correct choice then, as I'm sure many others would have as well. It's a stretch but I was trying to keep with my shaving analogies.

Originally Posted by BobH

What is the need for a hospital to do this in the first place? If your family doctor is any good he will have gone over this point and a few others with the new mother to be already. That is all part of good prenatal care and is as always up to the mother to follow or ignore medical advice.

Bob

You would think a mother would do what's best for their children at all costs... But I noted here in KS when the wife and I went to pre-birth classes, that many mothers hadn't even considered breast feeding - even though it's the best thing to do for your child at birth. Like the one lady said, "My mom just said don't bother... so I never even considered it."

Education is good and clearly - most people want what's best for their kids, but society has to change then too to help out. For instance, here in KS, heaven forbid were a woman to whip out a... and feed her kid! Sirs - this is not something people want to see in KS. Ok - they can get around that.

But the fact of the matter is most family's are dual income - as such maternity leaves need to also come into play. In KS you are only legally entitled to three months. Though I believe it is in the first three months that one gets the greatest benefit from breast milk, were a mother wishing to breast feed after - that would be a challenge at best.

Women need to either pump or feed their children often - if they do not do so, then their breasts will dry up. There is no way around that and a break every 4 hours isn't going to cut it for long. Heck I knew of a day-care center here where one of the staff had to quit because she wasn't being given enough breaks to pump and the job didn't pay well enough for her to start buying formula - so she quit.

I don't know what the laws are in NY as to giving lady's who are breast feeding extra time to pump - or what the maternity leaves are like. But here in KS... with it being a right to fire state - wanting to do right by your kid, and ensuring you can still afford a living sometimes don't co-exist!