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CHICAGO (AP) — Many U.S. hospitals have abandoned sending breastfeeding new moms home with formula freebies. Government researchers have found a big decline in the practice they say discourages nursing.
A federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study found that in 2013, just under one-third of U.S. maternity wards offered baby formula giveaways, versus nearly three-fourths in 2007. Rates vary by region and the practice is much more common at hospitals in some Midwestern and Southern states than on both coasts.
The study is published online Monday in Pediatrics.
Public health efforts, including the World Health Organization's Baby-Friendly Hospital initiative, discourage free baby formula because of health benefits that breastfeeding provides infants and their mothers.
The American Academy of Pediatrics and other medical groups recommend that babies receive only breast milk for their first six months, but data show that occurs for just 20 percent of U.S. infants.
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