Philadelphia Hospitals Will No Longer Distribute Free Formula

If you plan to deliver a new bundle of joy at a Philadelphia hospital, you’ll be taking one less bundle home with you.

All birthing hospitals in Philadelphia have now ended the practice of giving new mothers free bags of formula to take home with them, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Breastfeeding rates in Philadelphia are significantly below both the state and national averages, the Inquirer said.

Pennsylvania Hospital was the first to stop handing out the bags, the Inquirer said, but now Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Einstein Medical Center, Temple University Hospital and Hahnemann University Hospital have followed suit.

Ban the Bags, a national organization pushing for formula companies to stop marketing to new mothers in hospitals, says “multiple studies have shown that formula sales campaigns undermine mothers who choose to breastfeed, and co-opt medical professionals to promote expensive brand-name formula. “

Do you agree that Philadelphia hospitals should stop giving out formula to encourage breastfeeding? Let us know in the comments below.