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
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