I e-mailed awhile back about receiving formula on my porch after an
earlier-than-anticipated homebirth.  *No* birth certificate had been filed
when this happened, nor had I filled out any cards, etc. during the
pregnancy.  This is what I have managed to uncover on this interesting hunt
to see how it happened (happens).

The national marketing companies that generate mass mailing lists and the
like apparently do an incredibly good, detailed job.  This is a simplistic
explanation, but I purchased a pregnancy test at a Walgreen's back in March
of '03 using a check.  Because my basic demographic info was already "in the
system" (such as my age, number of kids, approximate income, etc.), that
purchase was significant to the marketing systems.  Fast-forward about 8
months when my dh bought preemie diapers at the local grocery store with a
credit card.  The query done behind the scenes (these databases all end up
linking somehow) showed that I probably had a new baby.  The marketing
firm(s) sold this info at a nice price to the pharmaceutical company *and*
American Baby (it started coming to my mailbox) and...hello...formula
arrived at my house.

The saga continues.  New Year's Eve, my dh stopped at the same grocery store
that prides itself on *not* using those little shopper cards.  He purchased
milk, eggs, lemons and limes.  Period.  We typically use cloth diapers (they
weren't washed when baby surprised us, thus the purchase earlier) so nothing
"baby-oriented" was in the cart.  When he got home with the receipt and
automatically-generated coupons, would you believe this?  There were coupons
for $7.00 worth of Enfamil...no other coupons...just formula.  This was
kicked out when he used our checking account's debit card to buy basic
foods, but it would also have happened with a check I've been told.  My
doctor's office can't sell names based on HIPPA regs; hospitals can sell
some info because birth registry info is public record.  (But Gavin wasn't
in the birth registry when this happened and he was never at the hospital.)

So, we work hard for Baby-Friendly status.  The mothers are still going to
be targets at home and at the grocery stores.  I'm about ready to leave the
grid!  The only different thing we would have if my dh had accepted a CIA
job is a video cam in our bedroom.

This is very disturbing to me, obviously.  Big bucks created this
information system and big bucks pay to reap its rewards.  Any thoughts?  I
just want to throw up...

Perturbed (that's a nice word),
Rebecca DeYoung Daniels, MBA, RD, LD, IBCLC

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