It will always be a complex situation, when a parent makes a health care
decision about his or her child that goes against current medical
practice/belief.  As Kathy mentions, sometimes these problems end up in
court with the legal system trying to figure out the situation.  While
we'd all love for the situation to be absolutely clear, the situation is
often muddied by economic interests.  We may think that an HIV positive
woman breastfeeding her baby in the U.S. is just about some misguided
person who doesn't understand the risk she is taking.  Or if we believe
that she isn't misguided, then we believe that once again the State is
taking away someone's freedom of choice.

But, I think we need to look at the knowledge we have and don't have
about HIV and breastfeeding.    There are economic forces within the
medical community that do not allow us to see the whole picture.  Last
year I read an interesting article written by Sharon Lerner in Ms.
Magazine called, "Striking a Balance as Aids Enters the Formula Frey."
One of the statements says, "AIDS has given formula its first big role
in protecting infant health." (that statement makes me choke)There is a
discussion of the WHO Code but ultimately the article seems to be
pointing to the need to by-pass the Code in order to give the poor HIV
positive mothers in undeveloped countries free samples of formula.

I guess I am a little jaded(especially after hearing some of the
interesting things the tobacco industry has done over the years).  Whose
best economic interest is served by the continued belief that HIV
positive women should not breastfeed?  Obviously, formula companies want
the market in the poor countries that are governed by the WHO Code. It
is highly likely to me that this is a strategy mapped out by this
industry to regain lost markets.  This industry has the money, the
influence to prevent or encourage studies that support their industry.
So while we may think that this is about medical studies, risk factors
and truth.  I believe that the truth is buried under the corporate
headquarters of a billion dollar industry.  Valerie W. McClain, IBCLC

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