Hi Norma,
This is a wonderful article, very informative and well written.  The woman
who commented might want to double check her "higher than average IQ".  It
is as if she read another article all together.  I am trying to comment on
the site but having trouble becoming a member.
Keep up the good work and don't let people get you down,
All the best,
Chayn - in rainy Israel - finally!

On Wed, Dec 31, 2008 at 7:25 AM, Norma Ritter <
[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> I wrote yesterday about the article I wrote for the Elmira Star
> Gazette which was published as an Opinion piece.
> For those who have not yet seen it, I am copying it below. Some of the
> comments written by readers might inspire you to add your own
> thoughts. Personally, I am still reeling!
> Do people not actually READ an article before commenting on it?
>
> norma, who reminds you that her own CORRECT grammar and spelling were
> *edited* by newspaper staff :(
>
>
>  http://www.stargazette.com/article/20081229/OPINION03/812290318
> Baby formula contents raise concerns
> Beware of ingredients put into products
>
> Did you know that the World Health Organization lists formula as the
> fourth choice of infant feeding methods? They are: a mother
> breastfeeding her own baby; another woman wet-nursing the baby;
> feeding human breast milk acquired from a milk bank; and lastly,
> formula.
>
> Why mention this? Because most people do not fully understand the
> risks of not breastfeeding, even in a first-world country like the
> United States.
>
> We were appalled to hear that melamine was deliberately added to the
> milk used for baby formula in China. Equally shocking, however, is the
> fact that melamine is used in the U.S. as part of the formula
> manufacturing process.
>
> In October, the federal Food and Drug Administration said that it did
> not know of any safe level of melamine in baby formula. On Nov. 28,
> without further research, the agency announced that melamine and
> cyanuric acid are safe in baby formula at levels up to 1 part per
> million.
>
> Nobody knows whether any melamine is safe. We do know that similar
> concentrations of either melamine or one of its relatives in their
> products has been found in formula made by Abbott, Nestle, and Mead
> Johnson, which make almost all of the formula sold in the U.S.
>
> What about breastfeeding and melamine?
>
> "No one knows the correct answer to this because there has been no
> research done on melamine and breastfeeding. Thus all anyone can do is
> give an educated guess," said Dr. Thomas Hale, author of "Medications
> and Mother's Milk."
>
> "Research, however, shows consistently that even in a polluted world,
> breastfeeding offers advantages that outweigh the risk of ingesting
> possible contaminants. Indeed, the benefits of breastfeeding may prove
> to be essential to compensate for and outweigh the risks of toxic
> effects from the environment. In other words, even when small amounts
> of toxins get into the breast milk medical problems are not found in
> the babies."
>
> Unfortunately, melamine is not the only problem.
>
> * On Dec. 2, the New Mexico Health Department reported that one baby
> died and another was hospitalized because of infections caused by
> different strains of the bacteria Enterobacter sakazakii. Both babies
> had been fed powdered formula, which the Centers for Disease
> Prevention and Control says has been associated with contaminated
> powdered formula products.
>
> * On Nov. 25, a 5-month-old baby, weighing only 8 pounds, 6 ounces,
> almost died from water intoxication and malnourishment. His mother had
> been using water to dilute the formula she got each month through the
> Women, Infants and Children program. She could not afford the $16 to
> $18 for each of the additional five to seven cans the baby needed.
>
> How can we prevent further tragedies?
>
> We can:
>
> * Offer all mothers accurate information and practical help to enable
> them to get breastfeeding off to a good start.
>
> * Give teeth to the current laws protecting women's rights to nurse in
> public and pump and nurse at work.
>
> * Ensure a safe, sustainable and affordable supply of formula for
> mothers who cannot nurse.
> ______________________
>
>
> And here is a sample comment:
>
> >Not trying to toot my own horn, but I was formula fed and I actually have
> a higer than average IQ (not much higher than normal, but certainly not
> low). To top that off, my mother mixed my formula with tap water, that was
> fluoridated. How we even got on the topic of fluoride is beyond me. The
> author of this article is nothing but a jerk who the Star Gazette has
> allowed to pollute my eyes with her views. How she should have presented her
> case was to give the benefits of breast feeding and allow the readers to
> make their own choices. To make women who choose to formula feed their
> babies feel like they are less of a mother is just plain wrong. Just the
> facts please lady. <
> 12/30/2008 12:09:48 PM
> _________
>
>
> Norma Ritter, IBCLC, RLC
> [log in to unmask]
>
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