Latch on NYC: City leaders promote breast milk for babies - 14 News, WFIE, Evansville, Henderson, Owensboro

Latch on NYC: City leaders promote breast milk for babies

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NEW YORK CITY (NBC) -

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is promoting a new program called "Latch on NYC," touting the benefits of breast milk for babies.

Under the health department's new latch-on initiative, more than half of New York City hospitals will stop handing out gift bags from formula manufacturers.

Beginning September 3rd, the city will record the number of formula bottles that participating hospitals stock and use.

It's a sensitive issue for many new mothers.

"The mayor first of all should realize, take a step back, that he is not a woman," said Lyss Stern, who breast-fed her children. "He has never breast-fed, and he has no idea what it entails."

The new initiative will be the most restrictive pro-breast milk program in the nation.

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