Effect of a hospital policy of not accepting free infant formula on in-hospital formula supplementation rates and breast-feeding duration

Objective To investigate the effect of public hospitals in Hong Kong not accepting free infant formula from manufacturers on in-hospital formula supplementation rates and breast-feeding duration. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting In-patient postnatal units of four public hospitals in Hong Kong. Subjects Two cohorts of breast-feeding mother–infant pairs ( n 2560). Cohort 1 ( n 1320) was recruited before implementation of the policy to stop accepting free infant formula and cohort 2 ( n 1240) was recruited after policy implementation. Participants were followed prospectively for 12 months or until they stopped breast-feeding. Results The mean number of formula supplements given to infants in the first 24 h was 2·70 ( sd 3·11) in cohort 1 and 1·17 ( sd 1·94) in cohort 2 ( P P Conclusions After implementation of a hospital policy to pay market price for infant formula, rates of in-hospital formula supplementation were reduced and the rates of in-hospital exclusive breast-feeding and breast-feeding duration increased.