Attn CDC:  I have just finished reading the advice to breastfeeding mothers
with flu on your website.  It has some serious and dangerous logical flaws.

a)      The surgical mask would have to remain on all the time, not just
during feeding.  Infants are mostly in their mother's arms, and it is of
course the face and not the breast which you are suggesting masking.
b)      The surgical mask would be of far greater importance to the formula
feeding mother, as the formula fed infant is utterly without protection, yet
is in the same proximity to the face.  I did not see this important point
stressed on your website, nor did I see advice about gowning and masking
before making up bottles of formula.
c)      The surgical mask would have to be worn beginning 24 hours before
the mother was symptomatic and for some days after symptoms arose.  However,
until symptoms arise, there is no way for the mother to know she is
contagious.
d)      The breastfed infant is receiving the same antibodies that the
mother is producing to the flu.

Following the train of thought introduced by your website, the only logical
advice for all infants would be for the mother, father, and siblings to don
the mask at the beginning of flu season and wear it continuously for the
duration.  This would also apply to everyone the infant would come in
contact with, including child care providers and other children in daycare.
This is clearly untenable.  But to mandate the wearing of the mask only
during breastfeeding makes no sense.  It does not appreciably decrease risk
to the infant yet artificially raises fears about breastfeeding. 

It does appear that someone in your department has decided to call for
protections to a single group of infants, (ironically) the best protected
already.  Consumers will naturally misread this to mean that, rather than
being the best protected, breastfed infants are at greatest risk.  Since the
flu is a very serious illness, this misconception could easily lead to
premature weaning and increased infant mortality this flu season and for
seasons to come.

I strongly encourage you to consult with the Breastfeeding Group of the
American Academy of Pediatrics regarding your advice.

Yours,

Arly Helm, MS, IBCLC

             ***********************************************

To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest)
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
All commands go to [log in to unmask]

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