Rose told us about a phone call that she had received from a company that produces artificial baby milk. They had asked for her advice in the preparation of a prenatal pamphlet. According to Rose, they apparently wanted to make sure that breastfeeding information on the pamphlet was accurate. Rose has asked us for some advice. 

well...

In short, ethical health care providers should not be helping companies market their products. 

A well known marketing technique is to advertise a product through the guise of providing information. Understanding the behavioral patterns and the apparent needs of the target population enhances the marketing of a product. The next step is to design advertising, in this case designed as apparent information packages, that suits the patterns and meets the needs of the same target population. 

In this instance, the target population is expectant families. During this stage many families are considering breastfeeding and thus, desire to receive information on breastfeeding. Furthermore, in general the present pattern of many families in the transition to parenthood is to initiate breastfeeding. Unfortunately many families wean much earlier than the standards recommended by the WHO. This is especially true when families are exposed to artificial baby milk and related products. 

Hence, based on the patterns and needs of this target population, successful companies might design advertising that recognizes early consideration of breastfeeding in combination with messages that convey to the target audience that they are also ready to assist them in early weaning. Meeting the target population's needs for information in an apparently altruistic fashion enables a company to not only draw attention to their product but also instills in families a false sense of trust in an apparently caring company. This sense of trust is promoted further if a product is endorsed by a health care professional. 

It is interesting to note that, Rose essentially described this process in her letter. I quote: "They want to make it supportive of breastfeeding at the beginning with the approach that later down the road if and when the mother decides to switch to a formula that she is supported as well in that decision. They want to make it a Q & A format asking a Lactation Consultant questions "

Unfortunately, expectant families are the targets of many advertising ploys from all different sources. Prenatal education should include teaching clients about this reality rather than helping companies promote their sales. 

Keren Epstein-Gilboa MEd,BScN,RN,LCCE,FACCE,IBCLC PhD(Candidate)

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