The idea is so simple it's hard to believe it has been overlooked for so long. In hospitals around the country, new mothers go home with a bag of goodies provided by companies whose sole purpose is to sell their product – formula. Breastfeeding advocates have long decried these goody bags whose tempting wares are often the breastfeeding undoing of many an exhausted mother. A small group of women were inspired to come up with bags of their own, bags that encourage breastfeeding, not bottle feeding!

Sally L. Gartner, RNC, IBCLC, is the in-patient obstetric nurse and breastfeeding coordinator for the birthing center at Coshocton County Memorial Hospital in Coshocton, Ohio. Her interest in breastfeeding was both personal and professional, and her deep-seeded belief is that breast truly is best.

"I know that breast milk is the optimum nutrition for a baby," she says. "It is not only species specific but 50 percent genetically specific to the particular child. Thus a baby has less risk of developing allergies. Breast milk also has many infection-fighting properties."

Gartner goes on to list other breastfeeding advantages, the psychological closeness, the health benefits for premature babies and the benefits for mothers, such as a decreased risk of breast cancer and a possible decrease in post menopausal osteoporosis. In the immediate postpartum period, breastfeeding decreases postpartum hemorrhage and also helps the mother get back to her pre-pregnancy weight.

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