I would like to add a hearty, "Amen, Sister!" tonthis portion of Betsy's post: > I guess I am also feeling that I think due to our collective efforts or >not, many babies go on to breastfeed exclusively despite what happens to >them in the early days. Let's concentrate on helping the mothers to be >successful. It will be because of consumer breastfeeding success and >consumer demand that changes will maybe come and force OB's, pediatrician >and the formula companies to back off a bit. I apologize that my posts contain the = sign--I set the text to plain text in OE but it does it anyway. If anyone can help me get rid of it, please email me off-list :-). I recommend Diane Wiessinger's article in Clinical Issues in Lactation 2002 about The Tenth Step First. She talks about how the community supporting bf (or not) has more power than what happens in the hospital. Michael Woolridge also addressed this issue eloquently in his ILCA 2005 presentation on the LIFT project--the need to have a clearcut policy promoting exclusive breastfeeding, coupled with the pragmatism of meeting and working with families where they are. His talk is well worth the cost of the audio CD/tape, which you can get from http://www.audiotapes.com/ I have no financial interest in either of these; just think they offer important information. Lastly, the formula companies will never back off, with the resulting cultural change, until they are forced by law to do so. I just finished reading, re-reading and annotating The Truth About the Drug Companies: How They Deceive us and What To Do About it, by Marcia Angell, MD. She was the editor in chief of the New England Jnl of Medicine for many years. Although this book focuses on the pharmaceutical industry in the US, it discusses the international issues as well. I think it is a must read for all HCPs, especially those of us who care about infant/maternal health and informed consent. Bear in mind that 3 of the 4 big infant formula mfgrs are owned by pharmaceutical companies. Warmly, Anna Swisher, MBA, IBCLC Abundant Blessings Austin, TX *********************************************** 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