Twenty-Four Oklahoma Hospitals To Encourage Breastfeeding

The Oklahoma State Department of Health says 24 hospitals, including two in Tulsa are participating in a pilot program and have agreed to stop sending free formula samples home with mothers.

The department says the "Ban the Bag" pilot program aims to increase breast-feeding rates in Oklahoma.

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report finds that 71 percent of Oklahoma mothers tried breast-feeding -- below the national average of 77 percent.

Hospitals that already ban free samples include:

• Great Plains Regional Medical Center, Elk City
• Jackson County Memorial Hospital, Altus       
• OU Medical Center, Oklahoma City 
• OU Medical Center, Edmond   
• St. Anthony Shawnee, Shawnee
• Weatherford Regional Hospital, Weatherford

The OSHD says hospitals that will be "bag-free" by the end of August include:  

• Claremore Indian Hospital, Claremore                                  
• Comanche County Memorial Hospital, Lawton                    
• Deaconess Hospital, Oklahoma City
• Duncan Regional Hospital, Duncan                                      
• Hillcrest Medical Center, Tulsa
• INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center, Oklahoma City
• INTEGRIS Baptist Regional Health Center, Miami 
• INTEGRIS Bass Baptist Health Center, Enid
• INTEGRIS Canadian Valley Regional Hospital, Yukon   
• INTEGRIS Clinton Regional Hospital, Clinton
• INTEGRIS Grove Hospital, Grove  
• INTEGRIS Health Edmond, Edmond   
• INTEGRIS Southwest Medical Center, Oklahoma City
• Mercy Health - Ardmore, Ardmore
• Norman Regional Health System Moore Medical Center, Moore
• Norman Regional Health System HealthPlex Hospital, Norman
• St. Anthony Hospital, Oklahoma City
• St. John Medical Center, Tulsa

The full CDC report is available at www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/data/reportcard.htm.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.