Infant Formula
Visit our infant formula marketing campaign website.
Sign the petition calling on formula makers to stop marketing in healthcare facilities
Breastfeeding has crucial health benefits for both babies and mothers. Children that are breastfed have reduced risk of acute otitis media, non-specific gastroenteritis, severe lower respiratory tract infections, atopic dermatitis, asthma, obesity, type 1 and 2 diabetes, childhood leukemia, syndrome (SIDS), and necrotizing enterocolitis. Mothers who breastfeed also experience improved health outcomes, including reduced risk of type 2 diabetes, breast cancer, obesity, ovarian cancer, post-partum depression, and bladder infections. Yet, infant formula makers (primarily large pharmaceutical companies) aggressively market their products to mothers, often using misleading information to suggest that formula feeding is equivalent to breastfeeding.
Healthcare providers should not act as marketers for any products. Yet, many are co-opted by formula companies to market their products: in the United States, the vast majority of birthing hospitals dispense industry-sponsored samples of formula to new mothers after they give birth. This practice sends families the message that hospitals are endorsing formula feeding. Mothers who received formula samples in hospital are less likely to breastfeed exclusively and breastfeed for shorter durations. It's not just hospitals that market formula on behalf of manufacturers; other healthcare facilities, such as clinics and doctors offices, also participate in formula marketing.
In 1981 the WHO established the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes. The Code states that healthcare facilities are not to be used for the marketing of infant formula. Hospitals in the U.S. that continue to distribute formula samples, as well as the formula makers that pursue this type of marketing, are in violation of the WHO Code.
We are fighting to end the practice of formula marketing in healthcare facilities.
More Information
News Releases
Commercial Alert to Hospitals: Stop Handing Out Industry-Provided Samples of Infant Formula
April 9th, 2012
Related Articles and Links
Related Articles
Md. health officials issue set of recommendations for breastfeeding newborns
Associated Press | The Washington Post | November 15th, 2012
Industry opposes HK govt ban on baby formula ads
Ming Yeung | China Daily | October 31st, 2012
Push for Breast-Feeding (3 Letters)
Elizabeth Ben-Ishai | New York Times | October 23rd, 2012
Hospitals discourage baby formula samples to promote breastfeeding
Haley Hernandez | WCBD | October 17th, 2012
Hospitals Ditch Formula Samples to Promote Breast-Feeding
PAM BELLUCK | The New York Times | October 16th, 2012
Breastfeeding flashmobs: Chinese mothers are abandoning formula
Tessa Thorniley | The Telegraph | October 9th, 2012
Breastfeeding Moms Boot Nestlé from Maternity Wards
Elizabeth Ben-Ishai | YES! Magazine | October 5th, 2012
Breastfeeding: Ounces of prevention
Kate Long | The Charleston Gazette | September 24th, 2012
Hospital support, limits on formula key to breastfeeding success
Katie Kerwin McCrimmon | Health Policy Solutions | September 20th, 2012
Oklahoma Hospitals 'Ban The Bag' To Encourage Breastfeeding
Deanne Stein | News 9 | August 29th, 2012
City Continues Breastfeeding Initiative
Cheryl Wills | NY1 | August 29th, 2012
Md. crafts state hospital breast-feeding policies
RACHEL ROUBEIN | Carroll County Times | August 27th, 2012
Breast vs. bottle: Should the government intervene?
Carly Weeks | The Globe and Mail | August 20th, 2012
‘Latch On NYC’ breastfeeding campaign draws attention, but is hardly unique
Jennifer LaRue Huget | The Washington Post | August 14th, 2012
Minister wants strong regulation for advertising baby formulas
Taddeo Bwambale | New Vision (Uganda) | August 13th, 2012
Formula v breastfeeding: Should the state step in?
Kate Dailey | BBC News | August 8th, 2012
CDC report: Colorado number 1 in breast feeding
Kim Posey | Fox 31 Denver | August 2nd, 2012
Bloomberg’s Breast-Feeding Plan: Will Locking Up Formula Help New Moms?
Bonnie Rochman | Time | August 1st, 2012
Mayor Bloomberg's infant formula plan aimed at promoting breast-feeding in NYC hospitals
CBS News | July 31st, 2012
AAP Resolution On "Freebies" Not Among Top Ten
Heidi Green | babygooroo.com | July 30th, 2012
Carroll Hospital Mulls Eliminating Infant Formula Gift Bags
Lisa Rossi | Eldersburg Patch | July 25th, 2012
Massachusetts Hospitals Ban Free Baby Formula Gift Bags 7 Years After Mitt Romney Said No
Jessica Samakow | Huffington Post | July 19th, 2012
What Mitt Romney Has to Do with Breast-Feeding and Infant Formula
Bonnie Rochman | Time | July 17th, 2012
Report: Massachusetts birth hospitals ditch free infant formula gift bags
Staff | CBS News | July 16th, 2012
Mass. birth facilities ban infant formula gift bags
Deborah Kotz | Boston Globe | July 13th, 2012
Hospitals drop free baby formula, encourage breast feeding
Gail Huff | WJLA | July 13th, 2012
Infant Formula Gift Bags Will End At Howard County General Hospital
Lisa Rossi | Ellicott City Patch | July 10th, 2012
New push to stop free infant formula at hospitals
John Dorschner | Miami Herald | June 25th, 2012
Fonterra's genie in the bottle
Pat Booth | Aukland Now | June 21st, 2012
Nestle Opens Clinical Development Unit To Back Health Claims
Emma Thomasson, Reuters | Huffington Post | June 6th, 2012
Breastfeeding goals: Over half of new moms miss the mark
Stephanie Hanes | Christian Science Monitor | June 6th, 2012
Why Mitt Romney Is No Fan of Breastfeeding
Adam Weinstein | Mother Jones | May 17th, 2012
Making Choices in the Age of Information Overload
Adam Davidson | The New York Times | May 15th, 2012
Maternity Ward Swag
Elizabeth Mitchell Armstrong | The New York Times | May 11th, 2012
Some Hospitals Will Curb Samples of Baby Formula
ANEMONA HARTOCOLLIS | The New York Times | May 11th, 2012
"Latch on NYC' to support breastfeeding moms
Kemberely Brown | Eyewitness News | May 10th, 2012
Plummeting breastfeeding rates in East Asia “alarming” -expert
Thin Lei Win | AlertNet | May 3rd, 2012
Breast-feeding advocates want Ohio hospitals to stop giving out formula
MARANDA SHREWSBERRY | WKSU | May 1st, 2012
Can a Formula Company Really Promote Breast-Feeding and Fight Child Obesity?
Bonnie Rochman | Time | April 30th, 2012
Hospitals halt free baby formula
Erin Grace | Omaha World Herald | April 30th, 2012
Public Citizen: Florida Hospitals Shouldn't Hawk Infant Formula
WCTV | April 30th, 2012
The Conflict: How Modern Motherhood Undermines the Status of Women
Katie Allison Granju | Slate | April 30th, 2012
Nestlé’s Purchase of Pfizer’s Infant Formula Unit Detriment to Public Health
Wenonah Hauter | Common Dreams | April 24th, 2012
Corporate Profits or Healthy Babies?
Robert Weissman | Huffington Post | April 16th, 2012
Should hospitals pass out free baby formula to new moms?
Amy Graff | SFGate | April 12th, 2012
Food Marketing to... Neonates? Bad Form, Bad Formula!
David Katz | Huffington Post | April 10th, 2012
Advocacy group calls on hospitals to support breastfeeding
Meredith Cohn | Baltimore Sun | April 10th, 2012
Public Citizen targets hospitals offering infant formula to new moms
JANET ST. JAMES | WFAA | April 10th, 2012
Group: Hospitals wrong to give baby formula to new moms
South Florida Sun-Sentinel | April 9th, 2012
Should Hospitals Stop Giving Out Free Samples Of Baby Formula To New Moms?
Chris Morran | Consumerist | April 9th, 2012
Hospitals pressured to end free baby formula
Susan Heavey | Reuters | April 9th, 2012
As Governor, Romney Dove Into Breastfeeding Debate
Andrew Kaczynski | BuzzFeed | April 7th, 2012
Canadian infant formula crackdown fails to make baby steps
Sarah Schmidt | Montreal Gazette | March 26th, 2012
South Africa: Draft regulations on baby formula, foods published
South African Government News Service | March 7th, 2012
Protesters briefly disrupt U of A ceremony awarding honorary degree to Nestle exec
Sheila Pratt | Edmonton Journal | March 2nd, 2012
How Companies Learn Your Secrets
CHARLES DUHIGG | The New York Times | February 16th, 2012
Canada: Natrel accused of milking parents' fear with Baboo, a toddler drink
Jennifer Pagliaro | The Toronto Star | February 7th, 2012
Abbott Nutrition Webcast to Target Canadian Health Care Providers
INFACT Canada/IBFAN North America | Informed Parent | January 18th, 2012
In Hong Kong, a call for baby formula ads to stop exaggerating
Vanessa Ko | Smart Planet | December 21st, 2011
Uganda: Baby food supplements face ban, says ministry
Flavia Nalubega | Daily Monitor | December 19th, 2011
Bill to stop giving baby formula sparks debate
JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH | The Jerusalem Post | December 16th, 2011
Free Formula Samples Hamper Breast-Feeding Efforts
Nancy Melville | Medscape | December 5th, 2011
RI eliminates free infant formula giveaways at hospitals in move to boost breastfeeding
Associated Press | Washington Post | November 29th, 2011
China May Ban Infant Formula Ads to Encourage Breastfeeding
Natasha Khan | Bloomberg | November 10th, 2011
Infant-Formula Companies Milk U.S. Food Program
Molly M. Ginty | Women's e news | November 8th, 2011
Study: Infant formula ads reduce breast-feeding
TERESA CEROJANO | Associated Press | November 3rd, 2011
Do hospitals' freebies undermine breast-feeding?
Medical XPress | September 26th, 2011
External Links
Ban the Bags
A national campaign to stop formula company marketing in maternity hospitals. The campaign’s web page includes a list of hospitals in the United States that have banned formula sample bags.
The International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes
The World Health Assembly adopted the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes in 1981 to protect and promote breastfeeding, through the provision of adequate information on appropriate infant feeding and the regulation of the marketing of breastmilk substitutes, bottles and teats.