Formula freebies seem to start showing up on your doorstep the minute you get pregnant, but breastfeeding freebies aren't as easy to find.
Of course you can get a "breastfeeding kit" from the formula companies - but that's not the best idea for breastfeeding success. They create those kits in hopes that you will give up and switch to formula. So you won't find a formula company freebie here.
Don't believe me? Read my Mountain of Formula Freebies post, and tell me what you think!
So I went searching for freebies for breastfeeding moms and made this huge list! I hope you enjoy it! (Updated November 2013)
NOTE: If you stumbled in here looking for a formula sample, I do have a separate post for Formula Freebies
Stock Photo credit: Almuerzo
by Daniel Lobo, on Flickr
Some rights reserved
⇦ Free Breastfed Baby card - It is to put in the baby cot if you have a hospital birth so that staff know not to give your baby formula. Just right click on it to save it so you can print it out. It is postcard sized. (Worldwide)
FREE "Fathers Supporting Breastfeeding" posters and videos from WIC. (US)
Free Nursing Cover Pattern - free instructions on how to make a nursing cover at a fraction of the cost of a retail cover. (Worldwide)
Free Mothers Milk Tea sample - Submit a story of your breastfeeding experience or a story as to WHY you want to breastfeed your baby. One sample packet per mailing address/person. (US only)
⇦ Free Printable Breastfeeding Tips Poster - This poster is stuffed full of breastfeeding tips for mum was written by mums on the Lactivist Facebook page and put together by Lisa from Lactivist. It is free to print out and share. (Worldwide)
Free flyers for Cafes and places where you might breastfeed in public - The idea behind these flyers (which were written collaboratively by Lactivist readers on their Facebook page ) is to help promote breastfeeding in places where we might want to breastfeed in public. (Worldwide)
Lansinoh® HPA® Lanolin Sample - 1.5 gram sachet sample of the #1 selling nipple ointment Lansinoh® HPA® lanolin comes affixed to 4" x 6" card that provides information about HPA® Lanolin along with a money saving coupon for your patients.
NOTE: This one is a sampling request page for healthcare professionals only. If you are a consumer interested in samples, please contact customer service at customerservice@lansinoh.com
Free Breastfeeding Ins and Outs eBook - Baby Button are giving away free copies of their downloadable e-book when you sign up for their newsletters. All you have to do is fill in your details and they will give you a copy, chock full of tips to help new mums breastfeed. (Scroll to the bottom of their page)(Worldwide)
MORE:
● Free Baby Tracking Chart (ALL)
● Free Breastfeeding Cover (US/CDN)
● Free Baby Freebies (ALL)
● Free LactMed App (ALL)
● Free Baby, Sling and Nursing Patterns (ALL)
● Free Lactation Consultant (US)
● Free Simply Breastfeeding video/workbook (ALL)
● Free Breastfeeding Items (ALL)
● Free New Beginnings Magazine (ALL)
● Free MoBoleez Hat (US/CDN)
● Free Pattern to Sew Your Own Nursing Cover (ALL)
● Free Baby Crafts (ALL)
● Frugal Baby Tips - Free Nursing Pads, Easy Nursing Shirt, Make-Your-Own Cloth Menstrual Pads, Free Baby Carrier, Inexpensive Baby Sling Carrier, Soothing Breast Pads and more! Taking care of baby (and mom!) needs naturally, doesn't have to cost a whole lot of money! (ALL)
● More Frugal Baby Tips - Cloth Diapering, Cloth Diaper Sewing, Cloth Diaper Washing, Diaper Rash, Baby Wipes, Breastfeeding, Child Safety, Toys, On the Go, Mom, Misc (ALL)
⇦ Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, as of January 1, insurance companies are required to cover breast pumps. The provision of the ACA that demanded insurance cover breast pumps, breastfeeding supplies, and lactation support has gone into effect.
That means that mothers everywhere can get these pricey goods covered by their insurance with no deductible, no out-of-pocket expense. WIC also provides some breastfeeding equipment and services, but that's not part of this legislation.
Here's a helpful guide to how you can get your pump covered. (US)
⇦ Free Herbs and Breastfeeding eBook - Filled with herbs, breastfeeding tips and advice from Mama, A Comprehensive Guide to Herbs and Breastfeeding is an essential reference for careful mamas who want to safely harness the goodness of herbs. (Worldwide)
Downloadable Breastfeeding Guide - A free 8.5 x 11 breastfeeding log for tracking feed times, breast sides, poops and pees of your little newborn. Colour in the triangle depending on which breast baby feeds from first and make notes about naps on the right. (Worldwide)
⇦ For those considering breastfeeding, TRU-BREAST is free!
Unlike formulas and bottles, a set of TRU-BREAST units are included in the price of your pregnancy.
Click here for Tru-Breast! (Worldwide)
FREE Sing To Me A Lullaby Album - Get your free album featuring various artists with a generous number of songs to listen to and lull yourself to sleep tonight. (Worldwide)
Like the Honeysuckle Breast Milk Storage Bags Facebook page to request a FREE sample of their breast milk storage bags!
⇦ Free Uncle Sam Poster - Just right click on it to save it so you can print it out. It is postcard sized. (Worldwide)
Free Breastfeeding Guide - Subjects in the guide include: Starting out right, Drugs and breastfeeding, Breastfeeding myths, Working mothers, Colic, Breastfeeding problems. (Worldwide)
⇦ Free Yummy Mummy Poster - Click on the picture to open it as a free poster, it is free to download and distribute and has tear offs with all the UK breastfeeding helpline numbers.
"Are you a yummy mummy? Sometimes it's not easy to do the natural thing so these organizations offer free help and advice from specially trained breastfeeding counselors. Only 3% of mums cannot breastfeed for medical reasons." (Worldwide)
"What Babies Eat" - A free breastfeeding kids booklet with 15 illustrations, available to download. Available in English, Spanish, and German.
The book explains to young children how breastfeeding works, including extended breastfeeding, pumping, milk donation, tandem nursing and other topics connected with breastfeeding. (Worldwide)
⇦ Free Formula information leaflet with loads of info about the risks of formula feeding. (Worldwide)
Free Holle Organic Nursing Tea - a great contribution to making your breastfeeding experience a happy one. This tasty tea will naturally encourage milk production towards the end of your pregnancy. Its calming properties also help with relaxation so you can put your feet up and enjoy some precious me-time. (UK)
Free printable breastfeeding leaflets - Leaflets include: A New Breastfeeding Mother Needs, Sore Nipples Engorgement, If Your Baby is Not Gaining Weight, When to Call Your Doctor, Breastfeeding and Working, Breastfeeding and Drugs, Breastfeeding and Traveling, Becoming A Dad (Worldwide)
Free Motherwear's Essential Breastfeeding Guide - Designed as a resource for both pregnant and new mothers, this Essential Breastfeeding Guide contains a comprehensive overview of breastfeeding and provides answers, insight and detailed information on a variety of related topics. (Worldwide)
⇦ Free knitted breast pattern. Knitted breasts are useful in educating mothers and health professionals. There are many ways in which they can enhance a discussion or teaching session. The principle use is to demonstrate the importance and significance of the asymmetric latch, with the baby’s tongue having maximum access to the breast. (Worldwide)
Lactation Cookies recipe - These are made to help nursing mothers milk supply. They taste great and really work. (Worldwide)
Medela and Ameda free breastfeeding information sheets on topics like latch and positioning, working and breastfeeding, engorgement, milk collection and storage. Available in several languages. Ameda's site also has this great new video on latch. (Worldwide)
⇦ Free Breastfed Baby Posters - These sweet and colorful posters are 8x10 PDF's so you can just download them to your computer and print them whenever you like.
Perfect for hospital birthing mamas to remind staff and others that you are a breastfeeding family! (Worldwide)
Journal of Human Lactation - Free downloadable magazine issues. Quarterly, peer-reviewed journal publishing original research, commentaries relating to human lactation and breastfeeding behavior, case reports relevant to the practicing lactation consultant and other health professionals who assist lactating mothers or their breastfeeding infants, debate on research methods for breastfeeding and lactation studies, and discussions of the business aspects of lactation consulting. (Worldwide)
Free printable breastfeeding posters from the California Department of Public Health, in English and Spanish. The goal of the Breastfeeding Impact Posters Project is to distribute culturally-sensitive posters with high impact messages each addressing known breastfeeding barriers. (Worldwide)
A free pattern to knit the International Symbol of Breastfeeding. Henya is offering two free Mothering symbol charts on her blog and inviting you to make something with it.(Worldwide)
⇦ Free printable breastfeeding handouts from Baby-Friendly Initiative Ontario. All available in English. Some available in English, French, Arabic, Filipino, Hindi, Punjabi, Spanish, Simplified Chinese, Tamil, Urdu.
Also includes a free, online breastfeeding course is designed for staff and volunteers of community agencies and hospitals who work with prenatal women or new families. (Worldwide)
Free printable breastfeeding handouts from the Massachusetts Breastfeeding Coalition in multiple languages. These handouts, available for free download, help reassure parents that help is available when they have trouble breastfeeding. (Worldwide)
Free online breastfeeding training for health professionals, from the Virginia Department of Health and the University of Virginia. Breastfeeding Friendly Consortium is your one-stop resource for implementing the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative's 10 Steps for Successful Breastfeeding. Their comprehensive program offers certified training and fosters performance improvement through Maintenance of Certification approved activities and practice monitoring tools. (Worldwide)
⇦ License to Breastfeed - These free cards are sometimes affectionately called "licenses to breastfeed," and while you certainly do NOT need a license to breastfeed in public, the cards can come in handy if you're ever confronted about it. (Worldwide)
● Texas' card, in English and Spanish
● Thank You for Breastfeeding license to breastfeed cards from WIC
● California's card - in English and Spanish
● Missouri's card- two sided
● Florida Breastfeeding Law
● Massachusetts License to Breastfeed - The law protects your right to breastfeed in public in Massachusetts.
● Baby Talk's license to breastfeed covering most states
● Humboldt County Breastfeeding License
● Pennsylvania License To Breastfeed
● NY Breastfeeding License - This pocket-sized handout includes information about New York's Right to Breastfeed law.
● Utah Breastfeeding License
● License to pump
● Breastfeeding laws - state by state
● Breastfeeding Laws For US and Canada - listing all the breastfeeding laws and their provisions for enforcement - all in one place?
● Thank you for breastfeeding cards from the Breastfeeding Place
● Thank You for Breastfeeding from TMuffin.com
● "Oops, you caught me breastfeeding" - Breastfeeding Biz Cards from mommyguide.com
New York State WIC has many beautiful handouts to support you through your pregnancy, birth, and breastfeeding. Remember, you can always ask your peer counselor for these items, too!
⇦ Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding Videos
-- Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding: Every facility providing maternity services and care for newborn infants should...
Did you ever wonder what's in... ? Breastmilk - Formula
-- Why it is important to share and act on this information
21 Dangers of Infant Formula
-- Poster by World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action, July 2012
Free printable breastfeeding promotion posters from UNICEF. (Worldwide)
The Business Case for Breastfeeding. Steps for Creating a Breastfeeding Friendly Worksite: Bottom Line Benefits [Kit]
-- This kit contains a series of materials designed to create breastfeeding-friendly work environments. It includes booklets for business and human resource managers to use to support breastfeeding employees and an employee’s guide to breastfeeding and working. The kit also provides an outreach and marketing guide and a toolkit with reproducible resources and a CD-ROM.
⇦ The Business Case for Breastfeeding. Steps for Creating a Breastfeeding Friendly Worksite: Easy Steps to Supporting Breastfeeding Employees
-- This human resources booklet is part of a series of materials designed to create breastfeeding friendly worksites. It details an integrated approach to implementing a cost-effective lactation support program. The booklet gives steps to support breastfeeding employees, explains how to merge work requirements with employee needs, offers program options, and outlines the program’s return on investment for the company. It includes profiles of employers with existing supportive lactation programs.
The Business Case for Breastfeeding. Steps for Creating a Breastfeeding Friendly Worksite: For Business Managers
-- This manager's booklet is part of a series of materials designed to create breastfeeding friendly worksites. It focuses on a company's potential return on investment in the areas of employee retention, health insurance, absenteeism, productivity, and employee loyalty. The booklet includes profiles of companies with existing supportive lactation programs and references.
⇦ Second Followup Report: The Surgeon General's Workshop on Breastfeeding and Human Lactation
-- This report provides updates on breastfeeding promotion activities. It is the third publication to result from the Third Surgeon General's Workshop on Breastfeeding and Lactation.
Nutrition During Lactation-Summary, Conclusions, and Recommendations
-- This report includes the table of contents of the full report and the report’s first chapter, which provides background information about the study and its overall conclusions and recommendations.
⇦ The World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) is the greatest outreach vehicle for the breastfeeding movement, being celebrated in over 120 countries. Officially it is celebrated from August 1-7.
On Facebook, change your profile photo to a breastfeeding photo or breastfeeding artwork. You can also add a Twibbon to your existing photo.
There are several freebies on the World Breastfeeding 2013 page:
● WBW 2013 Posters
● WBW 2013 Logo
● WBW WBW 2013 Website Banner
● WBW 2013 Calendar
● WBW 2013 Pledge and Certificate Form
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