Ruth Berkowitz <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> I would suggest that there is very little input from anyone with any 
> breastfeeding knowledge on this nationally funded research.  It is 
> concerning that when we have some very knowledgeable researchers and 
> practitioners in Australia and New Zealand, there is no one on this project.
> 
> Also, the national and state guidelines on infant feeding all state 
> breastfeed exclusively for 24-26 weeks and then gradually introduce 
> solid foods.
> 
> One would have hoped that there was some better decision making in 
> regards to infant nutrition and breastfeeding.

I have a little more on the only named "expert", John Sinn. His
published research tends to centre around hydrolysed formula and
probiotics, and he has worked for Danone Nutricia ("Early Life
Nutrition" is one of their phrases):

<http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/no-meals-no-sleep-80-of-mums-make-sacrifices-for-their-babies/story-fni0cx4q-1226929107545>

Excerpt: "The Galaxy Research study of more than 1,000 women aged 18 to
44, commissioned by Danone Nutricia Early Life Nutrition, found that
more than half of young mums (53 per cent) found it difficult to sustain
breast feeding their baby when they went back to work.
[...]
Medical adviser to the survey, neonatologist John Sinn, said despite the
demands of being a new mums, they should try and look after themselves
by eating correctly, exercising (when they can) and getting proper rest.

"For many new mums, caring for their baby is a challenging time which no
text book can prepare you for," Associate Professor Sinn said.

"It's a balancing act for new mothers between prioritising the baby's
immediate needs and her own nutritional health in order to give her baby
the healthiest possible future.""

Digging deeper and deeper - all of this actually originates from a
Danone Nutricia press release, which can be found here:

http://medianet.com.au/releases/release-details?id=805313

So it was actually worse than I thought: this is not just
formula-sponsorship influenced, but an actual formula company press
release masquerading in our national news as "new expert guidelines"
based on "research" - which was in fact nothing more than a formula
company market research survey.

Lara Hopkins

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