There is a tremendous marketing campaign by both Martek and the infant
formula companies to create a need for DHA/ARA in both infant formulas and as a
supplement for breastfeeding mothers. I have, as usual, more comments on this
issue, especially after Pat's quotes from Martek's latest efforts. When asked how
to respond to formula company salespeople and other health care providers when
they want to supplement mothers/babies, I suggest asking and doing the
following:

- make sure you see a copy of any research being referred to. Check to see
who sponsored the research and pay attention to the number of infants in the
study, if there was a control group of exclusively breastfed infants, and what
was the reason for any subjects being dropped from the study (intolerant of the
study formula)
- most studies are done on only health full term newborns. Ask if the formula
or mother's supplement is safe to use on an ill preterm infant, an ill term
infant, or a baby with any congenital anomaly
- ask what the "normal" amount of DHA/ARA should be in a lactating woman
- ask if the recommendation to supplement all pregnant and lactating women
specifies if they are to be tested regularly to see when they reach the
saturation point, after which more maternal supplementation no longer affects milk
content or infant outcome. Do they intend mothers and babies to be monitored for
overdosing? How long is it safe to take this product before the mother might
experience side effects or the product no longer works?
- what is considered an overdose?  We do not even know how much is actually
needed in these supplements Right now it is just a guess.
- Martek's product is carried differently on the triglyceride molecule than
is human milk fat, causing Martek's comment about it being like breastmilk to
be false and misleading

Formula companies are busy sponsoring breakfasts, lunches, and dinners as a
mechanism to hype their product. As long as health care providers attend these
"Tupperware parties" they will continue to fuel the waste of money on a
product that has never been shown to be necessary, safe, or beneficial to mothers
and infants. Simply stating that American diets produce lower levels of DHA in
mothers than in other countries with no baseline data on what is actually
normal, necessary, safe, and of any effect is an absurd piece of marketing that
people who should know better are falling for. How sad that health care providers
must be fed by money extracted from mothers who must pay inflated prices for
a product never shown to be necessary.

Marsha Walker, RN, IBCLC
Weston, MA

             ***********************************************

To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest)
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
All commands go to [log in to unmask]

The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html