Dear Listmates,
Wanted to share that I attended an educational seminar last evening
sponsored by one of the big 3 formula makers at a swanky, upscale restaurant. The
educational piece that I thought would be interesting and really wanted to
hear was on "Infant Falls/Drops" in the hospital maternity setting. It was
a mere 20 minutes long, prerecorded with no opportunity to ask questions.
Some interesting data on the occurrence of these events, and an initiative
which is being developed for education and prevention, was presented. Of
course to get to that, we had to first sit through a 30 minute (at least)
session on why the new versions of formula and other nutritional products from
this company are better than their competitors' products. It was a good
sales pitch to be sure, which is what I expected. Plenty of give-away's,
including tote bags, candy, sunglasses and visors, were on the tables, as well
as drink coupons, 2 per person. I have yet to review their new booklet on
breastfeeding that was in the folder they handed out. There were probably
upwards of 75-85 people there, although many of them left after that first
session. I had arranged to pay for my dinner which cost $35.50 and included my
glass of wine, and the gratuity. If that was the average cost for each
attendee, wow, this marketing/sales presentation sure cost a lot of money. But
I would hazard a guess that it was only a "drop in the bucket" (miniscule
amount) from their marketing budget.
Some of the nurses who knew I was going and planning to pay for my own
dinner, just didn't get it that my Code of Ethics requires me to adhere to the
Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes which prohibits health care
workers from taking any freebies/gifts/meals from companies that not
compliant with the Code. They see nothing wrong with taking anything they can get
from whatever company offers them something. I would not be surprised if
they will soon begin touting the superiority of this company's products when
mothers ask them about which formula is best. I think I will refer them to
the website www.nofreelunch.org.
I did ask the sales rep to explain why they are now producing a liquid
human milk fortifier, instead of a powder, and she was easily able to answer
this question with what sounded like a rather scripted answer.
Mary-Jane Sackett, RN, IBCLC, RLC
Pittsfield, MA
In the beautiful Berkshire Hills of New England
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