Hi fellow LACTNETTERS,

I had to respond to the Good Morning America comment. I wanted to share 
what I had to say. It may be a bit long, but I felt I needed to share.


Dear Sirs and Mesdames,

  Let me introduce myself. My name is Veronica Tingzon, and I am a 
Lactation Consultant and Lactation Educator in the San Diego area of 
California. I was reading about one of your shows last week that had 
incorporated a segment on readiness for emergency situations. I was 
baffled at what the lady said...she stated that a mom's milk dries up in 
times of stress. Totally untrue!

  As a lactation professional, and as someone who lived through one of the 
many landlsides in California this past winter, I knew that breastfeeding 
my baby was one of the only things that was going to get me through this 
situation. You see, the mere fact that I breastfed during these times of 
stress forced me to have to calm down when feeding my child. It was a 
therapeutic thing for me. It also made me confident that if I had to 
evacuate quickly  (which I almost ended up having to do at one point, but 
thankfully, I didn't lose my home) I would have all I needed to feed my 
child in a quick get away. I, in a quick escape, would not have to be 
bogged down with bottles, formula, etc.... 

  The one thing stress can do, however, is inhibit a mother's let-down or 
milk ejection reflex when pumping. (Pumping uses a completely different 
physiology than does breastfeeding.) But, tell me honestly, who wants to 
pump in a Red Cross tent city when just plain old breastfeeding the baby 
is so much more discreet and pleasant? Not to mention, it is the more 
sanitary thing to do since washing pump parts or mixing formula in an area 
where there is no clean or potable water can be potentially lethal to a 
baby.

  It makes me so sad that we still, after knowing all we do about the 
benefits of breastfeeding, in the media, portray nursing as some kind of 
disgusting or wrong thing to do. We take for granted that our bodies were 
designed a certain way and we were designed to survive. This is one of the 
survival features God gave us. I wish the media would get a little more 
educated so that the gross general public could be well informed as they 
look to you as a knowledgeable source of reference. Also, the American 
Academy of Pediatrics, The World Health Org., and UNICEF agree that 
breastfeeding is the best way to keep a baby healthily fed during times of 
disaster...it worked in Kosovo during the "war" and in Indonesia's 
Tsunami. 

  My last point, you know how inflamed the breastfeeding community became 
at Barbara Walter's "little comment" on breastfeeding, why would ABC allow 
someone to make unsubstantiated remarks about breastfeeding again. It's 
irresponsible, in my opinion. I would love to go on air and tell everyone 
how great breastfeeding is and why every mom should do it in this 
circumstance, having personal experience and the educational knowledge to 
make my claim. Actually, I would love to share why every mom should 
breastfeed, period!

  Please hear the brestfeeding community's pleas. Please try to do right 
by our nation's babies and stop your people and guests from making 
irresponsible remark about breastfeeding. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Veronica B. Tingzon
CLC, CLEC 

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