I've been asked to post my opinion on the letter from "Barbara" about the
"lactation consultants" at her hospital pushing pump rentals, pillows,
stools, nipple creams, etc. on recently delievered moms, and then twelve of
them being investigated and eventually fired for conflict of interest.  It
ended with a comment about the unethical behavior of the two major pump
companies for recruiting her nurses as sales representatives.

Well, I thought the letter was fake.  What can I say.  It sounded totally
bogus to me.  It occurs to me to wonder if it is a PLANT by a pump company
that shall remain nameless -- but obviously not either of THE BIG TWO
(Medela and Ameda Egnell).  And of course if you can't have LCs offering
pumps, but you CAN give out discharge packs provided free to the hospital by
one of the country's biggest formula manufacturers that *conveniently*
contain a pump (from this other pump company), then there's no need for
hospitals to rent decent pumps, so there's no conflict of interest . . . . . .

Just my ever so humble opinion.


Katherine A. Dettwyler, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Anthropology and Nutrition
Texas A&M University