Heleen has hit the nail squarely on the head:  The only "reporting" that the
Int'l [WHO] Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitute envisions is that of
"reports" of violations of the WHO Code made to the monitoring groups
charged with that purpose (ICDC, Infact Canada, Baby Milk Action, NABA,.
etc).  These grouips then periodically pusblish the compendium of
violations, and violators.

No marketer "waits" to be told they are in violation of the Int'l [WHO]
Code.  They are to look at their own marketing activities, to self-determine
and self-correct as to violations.  If they are at all in doubt, marketers
are encouraged to seek assistance from the reporting and monitoring
organizations to devise a plan allowing for ethical selling and marketing of
the four product-types covered by the Int'l [WHO] Code.  Marketers who live
in countries where the Int'l [WHO] Code has been *legislated* have,a bit
more "incentive" to get their act together, because those countries have
enforcement mechanisms set up (usually through the Health Ministry).

If the world were run according to Medela's rather creative interpretation,
then I guess it would be  OK to drive at unsafe speeds ... not pay taxes ...
litter in the parks ... abuse small animals ... all until some with some
sort of authority came along and tapped us on the shoulder and told us this
was illegal or wrong.

And here is the kicker:  Medela WAS engaged in substantive discussions with
Int'l [WHO] Code experts, about how to change their marketing of bottles and
teats so as to remain int' [WHO] Code compliant, back in 2008.  They made a
concious decion NOT to alter the marketing which they KNEW to be
Code-violative.

And you can bet your bonnet that more than "one" organization has deemed
Medela's marketing to be Int'l [WHO] Code-violative, and have altered their
interactions with that marketers as a result.  Ask the tens? hundreds?
thousands? of individual IBCLCs and organizations who promote and protect
breastfeeding how their relationships with Medela have changed since Dec
2008 when Medela announced that it would not alter its bottle-and-teat
marketing.

Liz Brooks JD IBCLC FILCA
Wyndmoor, PA, USA

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