Well, I bit the bullet, and called a local group collecting formula for the hurricane survivors... I hate talking to people on the phone, because I don't want to come across as a "breastfeeding fanatic." Again, I worked the "unsafe formula feeding" angle, and wow! It worked! 1. IBFAN and WHO recommend formula not be donated during emergencies. 2. Dirty water and dirty feeding supplies, plus possibly contaminated formula means infection, disease and death in formula-fed babies. 3. Babies who are formula-fed require medical supervision, attention and care. Formula for will be dispensed by medically trained personnel who will prescribe the correct formula, as well as make sure it is properly prepared and refrigerated. 4. Since formula-fed babies are at great risk for disease and death, they must be carefully watched by medical people, and this won't happen if parents are able to get formula to take home to dirty conditions. 5. Supporting breastfeeding programs would assure the mothers had a safer way to feed their babies. Five people later, the coordinator of the event agreed that any further pleas for donations would not include formula! Now, the question is, what do they do with the donated formula?? (the lady suggested that they give it to a local food pantry, to which I agreed, with the emphasis that if these babies got sick, at least there would be local medical care, which is not readily available to the survivors, at this point.) Best wishes from another beautiful day in the Mid-Ohio Valley, Heather "Sam" Doak who was glad to get through this without ranting about breastfeeding.... *********************************************** 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