With all the discussion of the "breastfeeding support" provided by
formula companies, it's helpful to remind ourselves why they do
this.  After all, actively promoting the use of a product that could
reduce your own sales is unethical in business as it reduces the
profit for the stockholders.  The only reason you see it in certain
anti-smoking PSAs supported by tobacco companies is that it was
cheaper for them to agree to do this than to pay even larger amounts
in fines once there was hard documentation of their supression of
the harmful effects of tobacco.

I have heard a number of times that a formula company makes more
money on moms who start breastfeeding and switch to formula than on
the ones who start with formula in the first place.  Apparantly,
more totally formula feeding moms switch to regular store-bought
milk before a year while the ones that switched from breastmilk to
formula the full first year (possibly feeling that at least they are
doing this part "right").  Therefore it is beneficial for the
formula companies to encourage moms to START breastfeeding.

Marsha (and anyone else), do you know if this is documented
somewhere, or is it just one of those things we have all heard
"somewhere"?

Winnie

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