Betsy said:
<<In the grand scheme of things, I can't get bent out of shape about this
becauswe in reality, I do not see that the reps make any headway with
anyone anyway. The mindset is either there or it is not. A formula rep
bringing
food is not going to change anyone's mind.>>
I suspect, Betsy, you are being a bit ingenuous here. Case in point. When
the peds I work with first went into practice many years ago, he was
determined that he would change the formula for the bottle feeding babies in his
practice every four months -- Ross, Mead Johnson, Wyeth (can you tell how old he
is?). Several years later (I'm a slow learner), I noticed that all the
babies that needed formula were getting only Ross. I asked him why.
"Well," he said, "Dan, the formula man is SO nice...."
Ahhhh.
Fast forward a couple of years, and suddenly our babies are all getting Mead
Johnson products. "Why?" "Ahhh -- well, Dan left, and you know, Maggie
from Mead Johnson is SOOOOO nice."
Honestly, if lavish dinners didn't work, if giving free formula didn't work,
if giving gifts didn't work -- do you think the formula companies would do
it? They are NOT dumb! Oh my gosh NO! A short course in marketing will show
you that they know what they are doing. A Ross Rep once said to me, "A
breastfeeding mom is our best friend. Because if we can get her to supplement
with our product even one time, we have her." You see, a bottle feeding mom
will readily change formula companies, and switch to cow's milk ASAP. But a
breastfeeding mom really is concerned about her babu's nutrition, and if she
thinks that the formula she is given in the hospital is the BEST one for her
baby, chosen specifically by her pediatrician, she is hooked. And if she is
convinced one way or the other that she doesn't have enough milk -- she'll
choose the formula given to her in the hospital.
Now, the lavish dinners may not change the mind of the die-hard lactivists
like me. But for those nurses -- who have a whole lot more access to the moms
on a 24/7 basis -- who really aren't convinced that breastmilk is ALL that
much better than formula, well -- believe you me -- if they get dinner at a
fawncy restaurant from Mead Johnson complete with nursing credits, and a pen
from Ross -- you tell me where their loyalties will lie???
Not to mention, of course, Karleen is right -- there are studies that will
prove the point.
Jan Barger RN, MA, IBCLC
Wheaton IL
_Lactation Education Consultants_
(http://www.lactationeducationconsultants.com/)
_My blog_ (http://www.motherofbridebyjan.blogspot.com/)
_Year of the MC_ (http://www.marriedcouplebytorrey.blogspot.com/)
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