Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Sign the Petition: Tell Infant Formula Makers to Stop Using Hospitals as Marketing Tools

Healthcare facilities shouldn’t market commercial products. Yet infant formula companies have coopted many hospitals and healthcare providers to market their products.
In the United States, the vast majority of birthing hospitals give away industry-provided samples of infant formula to new mothers after they give birth.
All major healthcare provider organizations recommend breastfeeding for at least the first six months of life. However, mothers who receive formula samples in the hospital are less likely to breastfeed exclusively and more likely to breastfeed for shorter durations. That’s why this kind of marketing is in violation of the World Health Organization’s International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes.
Infant formula companies are directly harming babies’ health and undermining the healthcare mission of hospitals by engaging in this destructive marketing practice.

Add Your Name to the Petition Below



We, the undersigned, call on Abbott (maker of Similac), Mead Johnson (maker of Enfamil) and Nestle (maker of Gerber), to stop distributing samples of infant formula in healthcare facilities, including hospitals and other medical clinics. The immediate end of this practice would be a crucial initial step to become fully compliant with the WHO International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes.

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