Mike Bloomberg may have finally gone a ban too far:

Amidst all the conflicting advice from friends as well as experts in child rearing, one solitary issue united everyone: Breastfeeding is better than bottle feeding. Doctors unanimously tout the benefits of breastmilk — it provides antibodies which protect from respiratory and intestinal diseases, increases immunity, protects newborn intestines, and — if you believe the hype — makes babies more likely to get into Harvard. World Breastfeeding Week, which started Wednesday, should have been a time for everyone on the planet to come together as one and celebrate the fact that even though we’ll go to the mat on issues like co-sleeping and childhood vaccinations, we all agree on one single parenting issue: Breast is best.

In the face of unity not seen since America came together as one to decry the farce that was Jar Jar Binks, it was apparently time for the government to step in. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg took the opportunity to announce that the city’s hospitals will no longer include free baby-formula samples in gift bags given to the frequently shell-shocked new mothers, as part of a $4.5 million “Take Good Care of Your Baby” campaign. The new gift bags will include breastfeeding tips, ice packs to keep expressed breastmilk cool, nursing pads, a baby T-shirt with the slogan “I Eat at Mom’s,” and a foam finger like they use at ballgames to point at any mother who has the gall to bottle feed in public.

Okay, that last one is an exaggeration — but it does seem Mayor Bloomberg is a bit of a scold.

By the way, pssst--hey Mike: dihydrogen monoxide can also impact newborns. Best start working on banning that next....