Hi all

I  received a reply (looks like a form letter) from New Mom editors today in
response to the letter I sent them a few weeks ago. I have not sent them my
parody ("Eat Healthy or Bust a Gut Trying") but looks like I need to. Their
letter is below, followed by my latest reply to them....

Dear Ms. Vickers:

I'm writing to thank you for your recent feedback on "Breastfeed or Bust,"
which ran in the premier issue of New Mom. We received many letters and
telephone calls regarding this article--glowingly positive, pointedly
negative and everywhere in between. We struck a nerve, and that told us two
things: that breastfeeding is an issue of great concern to our readership,
and that the subject deserves thorough coverage in every issue of our magazine.

Our goal with any article we publish is not to steer a reader toward a
particular choice or discourage her from it, but to give her information she
can use to make the best choice for *her.* To that end, we plan to run a
survey in our next issue, asking readers to share with us *their* questions,
concerns, hopes, joys and yes, fears, about the nursing experience. Then
we'll look carefully at the responses we receive and construct a feature
article that addresses as many issues as possible--in practical, how-to
format. In so doing, we hope to serve not ourselves, nor the medical
profession, nor the nursing community, but our readers: the new and
prospective mothers who pick up New Mom to have their questions answered.

I encourage you to look for the next issue of New Mom at your favorite
supermarket or newsstand, starting October 10, 1997. Then take some time to
share your thoughts on breastfeeding with us in our survey. Voicing your
opinions and experiences in this way will help us address this important
issue--and improve our magazine overall--in a way that best serves our audience.

Sincerely,
Catherine M. Cassidy
Executive Editor
Prevention Specials Division

***********
My reply:

November 6, 1996

Catherine M. Cassidy
Executive Editor
Prevention Specials Division

Dear Ms. Cassidy,

Thank you for your response to my letter concerning the "Breastfeed or Bust"
article that appeared in the New Mom debut. I am pleased that your magazine is
striving to both identify and respond to the needs of its readers, and I look
forward to the breastfeeding survey next year.

In your letter, you state:

"Our goal with any article we publish is not to steer a reader toward a
particular
choice or discourage her from it, but to give her information she can use to
make
the best choice for her."

That is a commendable attitude for many parenting issues. However, the choice
to breastfeed or formula-feed an infant is NOT a lifestyle choice, it is a
HEALTH
choice. Study after study--reputable studies at that--continue to pour in
concerning the health benefits to both mother and baby. I am enclosing the 1996
Breastfeeding Facts sheet published by La Leche League International just to
highlight a few of the important studies that are being done in this area.

I have never known Prevention or Rodale Press to water down a health issue
before so as to not put pressure on someone who chooses otherwise. You
present your case on the benefits of eating healthy without presenting the
"other
side," why not do the same for breastfeeding?

And yes, include that survey next time, and use it to address the concerns that
prevent moms from choosing to breastfeed or force them to quit prematurely.
Let's not use the survey to "vote" on whether breastfeeding is valuable
enough. Elections are fine for public office, but not for public health.

Sincerely,

Melissa Clark Vickers, MEd, IBCLC
Editor, Moms & Babies

PS. To illustrate my point, in addition to the Facts sheet, I am including a
parody
inspired by the "Breastfeed or Bust" article, entitled "Eat Healthy or Bust
a Gut
Trying."

************
We have a year to get them to change their minds!

Melissa Vickers, IBCLC
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