Dear all:

Now I'm being a bit of a hypocrit because I can't see any relation between Pampers and 
breastfeeding, but I still remember one of those loose cannon Cowboys (no offense to 
real Cowboy's who I am sure have far more common sense than the stereotyped movie 
versions) who had never worked in developing areas of the world who thought he would 
save the world with his wisdom.  

Niger at the time had gone through a so-called developmental leap with the incursion of 
black plastic bags. These bags were killing the goats that would eat them.  If you fly over 
Niger you see an endless desolate stretch of reddish sand and nothing else.  Like artic 
peoples who have a zillion different words for snow --- the various groups in Niger have a 
zillion different words for water --- and insults that revolve around insufficient water.  In 
this environment what was his solution?  Disposable diapers.  I don't think I met anyone 
who couldn't stop discussing this guy and how could we figure out how to pack him off 
and send him home.  We were all bemoaning the damage of the plastic bags and couldn't 
face the prospects of more plastic that goats would be able to eat.  

I didn't watch the women of Niger as closely, but in the Congo, women would instinctively 
sense when their infants started to fidget and needed to pee or poo.  They'd take them off 
their backs and find a place for their infants to eliminate.  Having a guinea pig who really  
can't last much longer than 15 minutes on someone's lap without needing to pee and 
really likes to find the right spot which is not on your lap --- I have a much better 
understanding of how these women could sense when their babies needed to eliminate.

So while I think a balance of interventions, that are developed in ways that a mutually 
enhancing, with breastfeeding front and center among those interventions is appropriate -
-- I would NOT include diapers on that list.

Best regards, Susan Burger

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