Home birth and the perils of free formula

The low incidence of adverse events suggests that women with low-risk pregnancies should be provided a choice of birth setting, according to the findings of a British Medical Journal study. Among the 64,538 women included in the study, the investigators found no significant differences in the odds of morbidity for births planned in any nonobstetric unit setting compared with those planned in obstetric units.

New mothers who are not offered free infant formula samples by hospitals after giving birth tend to breastfeed longer. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that hospitals refrain from the common practice of providing the sample formula packets to new mothers, largely because it has the potential to undermine breastfeeding efforts. A 2009 report from the Institute of Medicine on conflict-of-interest issues involved in the dissemination of industry-sponsored formula placed added pressure on hospitals to end the practice. Despite the recommendation, however, the majority of hospitals in the United States (91%) continue to distribute the formula sample packets, according to the authors of a study presented at the American Public health Association annual meeting. The researchers prospectively enrolled 527 breastfeeding women at Cooper Hospital in Camden, New Jersey — 284 before the policy to discontinue this practice was implemented (control group) and 243 after the policy was implemented (intervention group). Researchers called subjects weekly for 10 weeks after discharge to check on infant status and infant feeding practices. Those in the intervention group had significantly lower rates of stopping breastfeeding than those in the formula group).