Hi all,

My colleague Debbi (who went wearing her "President of St. Louis ILCA
Affiliate" hat) did such a good job summing up our adventure today, I'm
just gonna forward it on to all of you. I am truly amazed at the
resources, energy, & support generated by Lactnet. By last evening, just
a few hours after my post, I had almost 30 emails, many with citations &
often full articles! You all are the best! We'll keep ya posted as
things develop.

Smiles,

Carol

-----Original Message-----
From: Debbi Heffern [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Thursday 25 March 2004 2350

To everyone who helped:

THANK YOU ALL ! ! ! !  Your good wishes and prayers and good vibes (or
whatever you sent) AND research references made a huge difference today
in Jefferson City!

Lynn, you hit the nail on the head when you said the general public
impression is :  "We "know" that breastfeeding is better but formula is
good enough and not *really* shortchanging anyone, so why not err on the
side of safety and mandate separate sleep, you know?"

That's exactly what we were dealing with!  Yes, they all encourage bfdg.
But they didn't personally co-sleep and bfd (or bfd long-term) so they
didn't acknowledge that long-term bfdg success is linked to being able
to sleep with your baby.

Many, many people sent us references from all over.  Yes, Kathryn, we
were working the angle of the sleep-inducing  effects of oxytocin. We
were working angles of the increased levels of prolactin at night (thus
nature must mean for increased bfdg at night), higher fat content in
wee hours of morning, higher fat content when breasts are emptied
frequently, etc.
The presence of Elizabeth Allman, a family physician and bfdg mother,
was a terrific help, too.  Somehow when she said it's unrealistic to
expect moms to stay awake while they bfd so they can put their babies
back into a bedside crib when bfdg is over, the other MD (who is funded
by the crib industry) couldn't argue.

Mostly we seemed to be getting nowhere.  EXCEPT that we were letting
them get nowhere either.  The meeting ended with---honestly---nearly no
progress on developing this "single public safety message" they're
trying to create.

You'll love this, though:  It wasn't on the golf course.  It was
gathering outside the one-person-at-a-time restroom as we all prepared
for the long drive home.  One of the SIDS Resources reps said "Okay.
How 'bout if we say 'Don't co-sleep unless you're a non-smoking, bfdg
mother.  And then use a firm mattress with no fluffy bedding'?"
Ya-HOOO! ! ! !

It's finally clicking in their brains that the bfdg mother and baby are
legitimately, biologically different!    (Of course, she may have been
fussed at by her Executive Director on the way home who didn't
participate in that part of the discussion,  but the door is open!)

AND they are beginning to recognize that we don't want to risk
shortening the length of bfdg due to bfdg moms being encouraged not to
sleep with their babies.

We'll need to continue to attend these meetings to be sure the bfdg
voice is heard.  Keep in mind that folks on the Consumer Product Safety
Commission payroll are also on the committee.  Obviously, they've got
funds to keep *their* non-co-sleeping message in the public eye and will
be exploiting that ability.  We have to be able to keep saying, "Yes,
except for bfdg moms who have created a safe co-sleeping environment."

THANK YOU, thank you to everyone who sent references and perspectives.
Because the CPSC rep is a male MD, we need *strong* research-based
evidence on our side.  This isn't a case of "many mothers have found. .
. ."  carrying any weight at all.

(If you forwarded information to me, Nikki Simmons, or Carol Schlef to
help with our case that was from other people, please, please, please
send this update back to them.  Those important sources are numerous and
I don't have all their email addresses.  I wish we could send them ALL
flowers!)

Again, thank you so much!  You've played a huge role in maintaining a
state where bfdg is truly supported. Hang in there with us!

Debbi Heffern

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