If the AAP really had a commitment to publicizing the value of breastfeeding,
they would work into their own conference  budget the cost of devoting space
to a breastfeeding info stand.  Nice (sort of) that they want to come across
as BF friendly, but in my book, until the AAP foots the bill itself, it is
still only lip service.

I am also concerned about the publicity around the pump that is being
demonstrated at this stand, and other places.  I heard Mikael Larsson make a
one hour presentation at the annual national meeting of our BF mothers'
organization, ostensibly on the physiology of lactation.  There was quite a
bit of physiology, and he is very enthusiastic about Peter Hartmann's
brilliant work, which is to be expected, since Larsson's own company stands to
gain financially by it, through application of knowledge formed by Hartmann,
in the production of their newest pump.

Before anyone jump to the conclsion that I am against pumps in any
circumstance, let me say that OF COURSE I want any woman who is truly
dependent on a pump, to have one that is safe and effective - and accessible
regardless of her personal finances.  That's the way we do things here and I
have to say I prefer it to the free market system for health care provision.
But I was concerned by the language used by Larsson: he wants his pumps to
'feel good' to the mothers, and he didn't mention at all how many of these
machines they will need to sell in order to make good on their investment in
research and development.  It concerns me that a mother would exclaim
delightedly that a pump is just like her baby suckling.  Call me a
mammalianist, and you might even be right, but I don't like the idea of a pump
replacing the baby at the breast, if for no other reason than that it
introduces an economic factor into the BF relationship that is not there
innately, and that factor is smack dab in between the baby and the breast.

I'm with Magda on this one, and every time the issue comes up anew, I am more
with her than ever.
Rachel Myr
Listmother, residing in Norway, where ability to pay is not a factor in
whether you get maternity care, with the result that everyone gets it... Check
our morbidity and mortality stats for how much healthier it is to live here
than in the US, for example

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