February 11, 2007 -- Now that he has weaned New Yorkers off smoking and trans fats, Mayor Bloomberg is launching a multimillion-dollar good-parenting campaign that includes a push to put more newborns to the breast.

The city Health Department is spending more than $2 million in city-run hospitals to encourage moms to breast-feed.

"We don't yet have any hospitals in New York City that meet national 'baby-friendly' standards," Bloomberg's health commissioner, Dr. Thomas Frieden, said at a parenting conference last week.

"That means getting formula out of the nursery. It means putting the baby on the breast immediately after birth. It means that every person who interacts with that mother and child is supportive and encouraging of breast-feeding."

Ideally, the city says, babies should feed exclusively on mother's milk for their first six months. Doing so helps moms avoid obesity and reduces childhood asthma, ear infections and diabetes, experts say.

But surveys show that while 75 percent of Big Apple moms start breast-feeding, 38 percent of them quit before six months.

"Any breast-feeding is good, and the more the better," said Deborah Kaplan, chief of the Health Department's Bureau of Maternal, Infant and Reproductive Health.

She said the city would stop short of twisting moms' arms.

"We know that some women can't breast-feed that long or don't want to," Kaplan said. "In the end, it's the mom's decision. It's her life and her choice."

Baby-formula companies have long plied hospitals with goody bags for new parents, filled with free samples and bottles. But that will come to an end, Kaplan said.

Kaplan said public hospitals will now give new parents freebies like ice packs to keep pumped breast milk fresh.

The city is also beefing up two other programs, one in which a health worker checks on new moms once and another in which nurses visit low-income families every two weeks for two years.

The city's Take Good Care of Your Baby campaign, which started in 2005, will have spent about $4.5 million through next year to create and place ads. Since December, the ACS has lined 500 subway cars with safety messages that warn parents against shaking a baby or leaving an infant alone in water.

One message that may offend parents warns them not to bring infants into their beds to sleep - a practice considered beneficial in some cultures but one that health experts say puts the baby at risk of suffocation.

"We want information out there so parents can change dangerous behavior, unlearn bad habits and prevent accidents," ACS spokeswoman Sharman Stein said.

The ads also invite parents to call 311 to get a free brochure with safety tips or to seek help for substance abuse or domestic violence.