When Marsha Walker, a Lactation Consultant working in Massachusetts wrote to INFACT Canada that her State had revised its perinatal regulations to include a provision that forbids any commercial marketing, including the distribution of gift bags containing formula samples, to new mothers in hospital, we all felt the hard work accomplished by Marsha as a member of the Mass. Breastfeeding Coalition had finally paid off.

Clearly this was a sensible public health decision in improving supports for infants to receive the health advantages of breastfeeding. However, not everyone has perceived the ban as a supportive measure for mothers. Under attack from several quarters - including the State Governor, Mitt Romney - the formula sample ban was suspended. Thus the hospital governing board decided to hold off on any action until at least May, clearing the  way for the controversy to swell in the coming months.

Even an editorial in the University of Boston’s Daily Free Press weighed in on the skirmish. Referring to "hard-line breast- feeders," the editorial claimed the ban was an intrusion on a mother’s prerogative to feed as she sees fit. The editorial, griping on about how women do not want to breastfeed 100 per cent of the time and how fathers would need formula to feed their children, argued, despite all the clear scientific evidence to the contrary, that "formula samples will not sway her decision either way." And on top of that concluded, " the evidence in favor of breastfeeding over formula is not so overwhelming… This is one area where the government shouldn’t have any say."

And this rebuttal from Marsha Walker:

"You could inform the company that wishes to include an actual sample of formula that powdered formula is not a sterile product, that approximately 14% of powdered formula cans contain pathologic bacteria, and that they might be liable if a mother fed the formula to her baby and the baby became ill. The company could then be asked to make sure that it recorded the lot number of each can and the mother’s address to whom it was given in case the mother needed to be notified of a formula recall. Written information should be given to the mothers who receive the gift formula on the safe preparation, reconstitution, use, and storage of the formula. They should also tell the mothers that leaving the reconstituted formula at room temperature causes the bacteria count to double every 30  minutes. The company also has the obligation to make sure that it informs the mother of the side effects of replacing her breast milk with a substitute and that she  needs to seriously consider if she wishes to increase her infant’s risk for diabetes, overweight/obesity, and allergies if any of these are present in the family.