I wanted to let everyone know I had a great time at the Houston Area
Lactation Consultants and Educators Association meeting this Friday and
Saturday.  I got to hear Ed Newton and Allan Cunningham talk, and got them
to autograph my copy of Breastfeeding: Biocultural Perspectives.  It's *so*
energizing to be around so many people knowledgeable about and supportive of
breastfeeding.

Allan Cunningham talked at some length about the role of DHA in normal brain
development, and the cognitive consequences of using formula.  In response
to a query from Cathy Liles about the *significance* of a 10 point IQ
deficit in bottle-fed children, he pointed out that normal IQ scores have
their mean at 100.  An IQ of 100 is "normal".  The cutoff for being mentally
retarded is an IQ of 70.  So a 10 point IQ difference is 1/3 of the way from
normal to retarded.  Likewise, an IQ of 140 is considered *genius* so you
can consider a 10 point IQ boost to be 1/4 the way to genius.

Cunningham also presented some data on children with PKU.  Those who were
breastfed for 3-6 weeks had an average IQ of 106, while those who were on
the special PKU formula from birth had an average IQ of 92.  He also
presented some scary data comparing iron-fortified formula to regular
formula (NOT to breast milk) which suggests that iron-fortified formula is a
significant health risk above and beyond that of low-iron formula.

I got to meet the famous Dr. Hale -- who pointed out that giving
supplemental DHA to infants, whether in formula or in capsules, carries
certain dangers, as DHA by itself can be toxic at high levels (it leads to
blood clotting problems), while the DHA in breast milk is perfectly balanced
with the other fatty acids to be just right for the child's brain.

I was *accosted* by two pump company reps who were there and was very put
off by them.  One in particular seemed to think that it was perfectly
logical that every breastfeeding mother HAD TO HAVE a double electric pump
or else how in the world could she breastfeed??!!  He also thought that his
wife's nursing of their child til 6 months was a heroic accomplishment, and
that 6 months was an amazingly long time to nurse a child.......guess he
didn't come to hear me speak at lunchtime, hmmmmm?  He was also amazed that
the only time I ever used a pump, in almost 10 years of nursing, was when my
child was in the NICU for 3 weeks after birth.  The other rep who *accosted*
me dropped his spiel as soon as I told him point-blank that he didn't need
to "schmooze" me as I didn't do direct mother/baby consults or pump rentals.

The M----- rep, on the other hand, was quite nice, very professional.  Why
do I think that might have had something to do with the fact that she was a
female?

Final note: a new book has been published on breastfeeding, but I gave all
my brochures out at the meeting.  I gave one to Cathy Liles, maybe she can
post a copy of the table of contents.  I am not familiar with the
contributors, but it did include several chapters on "breastfeeding in X
country" that are described as "state of the art statistics in breastfeeding
rates and breastfeeding promotion and support campaigns" in those countries.
It is published by Karger and the cost is -- get ready -- $198.00.  The
brochure I had was a special order form for only $99!

Kathy Dettwyler