British Hospital to Begin Charging for Baby Formula
The formula backlash continues. Starting from January, a British hospital will charge mothers of newborns for formula. They will also refuse to permit moms to bring formula from home. Babies who require formula for medical reasons will continue to receive it for free. The hospital says that it will sell infant formula for their cost price and not profit from the sales, and that the program will save them £30,000 (around $50,000) every year.
Britain is different from the US in that formula companies are not allowed to give away free samples in hospitals, like they do here in the States.
The announcement has caused controversy in Britain. It’s not so much the cost of the formula, rather than the perceived discrimination against formula-feeding moms.
Unlike the US, Britain has a nationalized health service – basically paid for by the government – and it’s chronically underfunded, understaffed and under-resourced. Healthcare is essentially free for most people and while standards are somewhat lower than the average hospital in the US, it’s free and available to all. Incredible when you consider what it costs to have a baby in the US: my hospital bills for my son ran around $7,000 for a routine delivery before insurance kicked in.
The average hospital stay is around 2 days, and moms have to start buying their own formula as soon as they leave the hospital, so paying for those two extra days’ worth of formula isn’t really that much of an expense.
But is this more discrimination against moms who choose not to breastfeed?
The hospital denies that the move is to encourage breastfeeding, or to discourage formula feeding, but they say that it is to make it fair so breastfeeding moms aren’t subsidizing formula feeding moms.
Everyone knows that, with everything else being equal, breastfeeding is best for babies. But in the real world, everything else isn’t equal and breastfeeding simply doesn’t work for many moms for many reasons. Moms who can’t, or choose not to breastfeed, have very valid reasons to not do so and formula-fed babies grow up as beautiful and smart as breastfed babies.
What do you think? Is charging for formula a reasonable cost-cutting step? Does charging for formula make it more fair for breastfeeding moms, or is it discrimination against formula feeding moms?
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Ge-Anne says...
I think it’s an excellent choice and that it’s very fair. Maybe more mothers will attempt breastfeeding and not give up so easily.
In my case, the hospital was very eager to get formula into my baby, but we had already determined that due to PCOS I would have less breast milk than “normal” mothers. I persevered and was able to nurse for almost 9 weeks, but had to supplement with formula.
Let the women choose, but don’t let them cheat themselves by hanging over them with a bottle!
Dawn says...
Reading this post, I formed the opinion that it was wrong, until you got to the point of breastfeeding moms “subsidizing” formula-fed babies.
I’m very much libertarian in my views on almost everything, and that political philosophy gives people the freedom to choose whatever they want **as long as it doesn’t hurt or inconvenience someone else.**
When people make a choice (to formula feed or breastfeed, for instance) that choice has consequences.
Breastfeeding in those first few days is not easy, and new moms pay a “price,” too–less sleep, sore nipples, psychological struggles, feelings of inadequacy. Now, it seems, the price for formula-feeding moms is financial. Either way, women “pay.” So yes, it’s fair. It’s not discrimination. Also, often cost-cutting measures are required in order to keep a system running. If charging for formula helps the hospital continue to provide free medical care to patients, then it’s well worth it.
I do think if moms have to pay for the formula, they should be allowed to bring their own from home. I don’t like people charging me for something but not giving me a choice of whether or not to buy it.
Dawns last blog post..Whatever it Takes