This is kind of a cross between a rant and a sob. I got the head of the
newborn nursery (a very busy lady and a nice one) to talk for a few
minutes today. Mostly it was about the pamphlet that the neonatal service
put out supposedly to promote breastfeeding. BTW, it was a very nice and
glossy production, obviously a lot of work and thought had gone into it,
and they really TRIED - some parts were even very good - but there was a
basic foundation that was missing. For example, there were advertisements
for Nuk pacifiers, Osem Baby Tea "from day of birth", Taami baby cereal,
picture of a mom bottlefeeding, etc., obvious Code violations, not to
mention mixing up anecdotal "information" with solidly researched. Sigh.
Anyhow, the nurse, a staunch supporter of breastfeeding (she's originally
Dutch), then told me she was upset when she saw a R-----a formula poster
in the community health clinic near her own home. I asked her why she
didn't tear it down, since it was a blatant Code violation, and she
looked shocked and said it "wasn't her job". I looked her right in the
eye and said "yes, it IS your job". I wanted to cry. This is a person who
really supports breastfeeding. Who the hell CAN I work with? Oh, almost
forgot. After reading their pamphlet, I wrote a long letter to each and
every person listed as participating in writing it, opening with my
congratulations on something that obviously took a lot of work and was
taken seriously, with commitment, and then listed my criticisms, which
were numerous, but most serious the WHO Code violations. When I asked
this head nurse if she got my letter, she said yes, and that when they
rewrote the pamphlet, they would take my comments into consideration.
Deep breath, and then I came right out and suggested that I be included in
the group that wrote the pamphlet, since, after all, babies stayed in
hospital for two days, and then went out into the community, my stomping
grounds. She said that Prof. K---- would agree to work only with hospital
personnel. NOT FAIR. If they get to write about breastfeeding past the
period when the babies "belong" to the hospital (their attitude, not
mine!), then why am I excluded? WAAAH!
Wetly yours, Judy Knopf