I just received the following post directly from the President of Lansinoh
company in response to a mail I sent to her. I am very impressed with her
letter and have permission to send it to the list, I think all of you will
be equally impressed.
It sounds like ALL Walmarts will at least be getting part of this new
collection! I was in the baby section of my local Wal-Mart today and they
were moving everything around, I saw a few of the new products but not the 4
foot section and couldn't find anyone to ask!
Dear Cindy:
I have received your email of 1/22 . I apologize for not responding sooner
but I have been traveling. I will try and address your questions and
apparent concerns about Wal-Mart's decision to dedicate a four foot section
of products and information for Breastfeeding mothers in their Super Stores
and a smaller selection of products in the rest of their stores. If you
have any remaining questions or concerns, please feel free to call me
directly.
By way of introduction, I founded my company over 15 years ago to support
Breastfeeding by offering mothers a safe, effective alternative to the
highly
cosmetized products that were available for the drying and cracking that can
often accompany Breastfeeding. The results of out efforts is Lansinoh For
Breastfeeding Mothers. Created by a patented process especially for
Breastfeeding mothers, Lansinoh is the World's Purest Safest lanolin.
Clinically proven to accelerate healing without irritation, Lansinoh is
rapidly becoming the treatment of choice among health care professionals and
experienced nursing mothers.
I have been involved in and deeply committed to Breastfeeding since the
birth
of our first daughter in 1977. My husband, a child psychiatrist, has
promoted the psychological and physiological benefits of Breastfeeding
throughout his career. He now works with our company full time. Our
company
is still relatively small and we are all deeply committed to increasing the
incidence of successful breastfeeding. One of our key employee has been a La
Leche League Leader for amost 25 years and is an IBCLC who has written many
articles and given many presentations about the prevention and proper
management of sore nipples. I give you this background to reassure you that
we took our assignment very seriously and have worked arduously to bring the
best possible products to market. Many of the products in The Collection
were developed by families like mine who found a need through their
Breastfeeding experience and went on to develop a product to make
Breastfeeding easier. There are 33 products in all ranging from a
Breastfeeding library (11 books) to superior breast pads (both washable and
disposable) to sleeping bras, Breastfeeding T-shirts, night shirts and
camisoles as well as many other products that makes Breastfeeding easier and
more comfortable. If you will provide me your address, I would be most
pleased to send you a brochure that features each of the products in The
Collection.
Specific to your questions about breastpumps, rest assured that everyone at
Lansinoh shares your concerns. We have included two breastpumps in our
Collection, both are manual pumps and were chosen very carefully because of
their long standing reputation for safety and effectiveness. We have
included a piston style pump that has been in use for over 30 years and is
most appropriate for relieving engorgement and for the mother who wishes to
pump occasionally if she plans to be away from her baby during a feeding.
The other pump we have included is the Ameda one hand manual pump. Again,
this is a reliable pump that has been in use for many years.
We specifically state in our insert that the piston pump is for the mother
who needs to pump occasionally and is not suitable for the mother who needs
to return to work. Additionally, even though we mention that the Ameda one
hand pump can be converted to use with the Ameda Electric Pumps, we have
made
no attempt to offer a pump for the mother that has to return to work or will
be away from her baby for extended periods of time and must therefore take
special precaution to make sure her milk supply is maintained at sufficient
levels.
To further insure that the mother understands the nature and function of the
pumps we offer, we have prominently displayed the following in a shaded box
on our brochure inside the pumps that contain the following:
If your baby is premature and not nursing, or if you are employed and wish
to
establish or maintain a full milk supply, we recommend the rental of a
hospital grade electric double pump.
I hope the above addresses your concerns and those of your colleagues. If
you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact me. Also,
most of the products in The Lansinoh Breastfeeding Collection should be
appearing at the store level in most Wal-Marts by now so you may wish to
take
a look for yourself. I believe it will become apparent that we have taken
great care in putting this collection together. Many of the items are
patented and have come from all over the country as well as around the world
. We reflected on our own Breastfeeding experiences when selecting each
product and included a product only if we felt that it had real utility for
the Breastfeeding family.
Coming now to your question about how Wal-Mart intends to educate the
consumer, this will be done through the selection of books that will be
offered and free brochures that will be distributed at the store level
relative to the benefits of Breastfeeding for both mother and child.
Additionally, there will be information on their new web site about the many
benefits of Breastfeeding.
The sheer visibility of Breastfeeding products in the Wal-Mart environment
will introduce the possibility to many women who may never have considered
Breastfeeding. Over 100,000 million people a week visit Wal-Mart stores.
That is a staggering figure. Imagine how many women (perhaps on their way
to
the artificial feeding section) will stop and look at the four feet that has
been dedicated to the woman who choses to feed her baby naturally. We at
Lansinoh feel this will have a profound effect on the woman who may never
have considered Breastfeeding and offer a much needed convenience for the
woman who has already made that choice.
I would be very open to any feedback you might have after you have had a
chance to view The Lansinoh Collection.
Sincerely,
Resheda Hagen
Resheda Hagen, President
Lansinoh Laboratories
800-292-4794
[log in to unmask] or [log in to unmask]
P. S. As you mentioned your colleagues also had questions and concerns,
please feel free to post this on Lactnet if you think it would be helpful.
Cindy Curtis,RN,IBCLC
mailto:[log in to unmask]
http://www.erols.com/cindyrn
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