>I also wonder how poor these
>mothers really are - in Zimbabwe at the moment we are trying to decide on
>just what pre-requisites should exist for formula feeding to be "safe", and
>it's thought that before we even consider "recommending" formula a mother
>should have piped water, a refrigerator and a stove. If they have these
>things then they would be "rich" enough to safely formula-feed.

In the peri-urban town in Mali, West Africa, where I have done research for
2.5 years, people who spent their money on consumer luxury items like piped
water, a refrigerator, and a stove, often had NO MONEY LEFT to buy food for
their children.  While it is often assumed that more "stuff" equals more
income for all categories of expenditure, in Mali, more "stuff" often equals
LESS MONEY for food.  I have growth and household data that show that the
better the house, the more furniture, the better the transport (from foot to
bicycle to old car to newer car) -- the worse the nutritional status of the
children in the family.  I always have data that show the higher the birth
order (the more older siblings a child has) the better the nutritional
status of the child.  In Mali, more children = more income for everyone, as
children start being net income producers as young as 3 or 4 years of age.
They either produce food or income directly, or they relieve their mother of
childcare and domestic duties so she can then go out to work in the fields
or the market or at a job.

Kathy Dettwyler

             ***********************************************
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html