Beth Israel Medical Center Bans Baby Formula in New Mom Gift Bags

“Overwhelming evidence has shown that giving away diaper bags containing formula and other marketing materials for the companies that manufacture them undermines breastfeeding mothers and promotes the sale of expensive, brand-name formulas,” says Susan Rothenberg, MD, FACOG, Associate Director of Obstetrics at Beth Israel Medical Center (BI).  “As an alternative gift to new families, we are giving away infant bodysuits, called ‘Onesies,’ with the phrase ‘I’m a BI Baby,’ printed on the front.”

Although New York City’s Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC), the largest municipal hospital and healthcare system in the country, discontinued the practice of formula giveaways some time ago, Beth Israel is one of the few private hospitals that have done so.

Beth Israel has been recognized by BanTheBags.org, the official Web site for the national campaign, as a hospital that “markets health and nothing else.”